MONK FRUIT EXTRACT also known as Siraitia grosvenorii or Lo Han Guo, is a natural high-potency sweetener that is 150 – 250 times as sweet as sugar. It’s an ingredient commonly used by food & beverage product manufacturers for sugar reduction and replacement. In such applications, it comes with the added benefit of being labelled with fruit in the product name.

In addition to being a zero-calorie sweetener, monk fruit extract is rich in Vitamin C as well as other nutrients that offer a variety of benefits:

• Kaempferol, a flavonoid with antimicrobial and antioxidant effects
• Triterpene glycosides, compounds that can assist in reduction in the growth of tumour cells 
• Antioxidants mogroside I-V which can inhibit oxidative damage
• Cucurbitacins, compounds with anti-inflammatory effects
• Polysaccharide fibres, which may lower cholesterol levels

The primary sweetener in monk fruit is the antioxidant mogroside V.

The typical indicated range of this antioxidant is 10 – 90%. Nascent Health Science’s team of formulation experts continuously experiments with the full range of monk fruit purity levels and have found that the best overall value is most consistently at 40 – 50%. We’ve found a cleaner taste and higher sweetness than lower purity levels at that range. Monk fruit at very high purity levels may taste slightly cleaner, but it comes at a significantly higher cost. 

We generally recommend starting with 50% purity as it is the most common level. We have found the maximum use level to be about 175 ppm for monk fruit at 50% purity. Beyond that, you’ll notice too many off-notes, especially in the aftertaste, which some describe as “fruity ginger”. Monk Fruit Extract is a powder containing approx. 50% Mogroside V.

STEVIA SOPURE GALAXY 92453 from ZHUCHENG HAOTIAN offers a pure, natural sweetness with zero calories for healthier formulations.

STEVIA SOPURE PEGASUS II from ZHUCHENG HAOTIAN delivers intense, calorie-free sweetness, perfect for clean-label products.