Katemfe: A Non-Calorie Sweetness Without Aftertaste

A farm of Katemfe trees in West Africa.

I take great joy when customers at Smile Herb Shop are amazed to compare Katemfe Fruit to Stevia Leaf and other sweeteners to find INCREDIBLE sweetness with no aftertaste.

This photo shows how fried fish is cooked in Katemfe leaves for the sweetness (West Africa).

The extremely sweet active ingredient of the Katemfe fruit extract, Thaumatin, is 1600 times sweeter than sucrose, making it the sweetest natural substance in the world.

Miracle Drops is a virtually zero-calorie sweetener because so little of it is required per use. One drop is more than sufficient for sweetening a cup of tea. Some folks even find one drop to be too sweet!

Additionally, it is impossible for the protein Thaumatin to spike blood sugar when metabolized, making it ideal for diabetics.

Although studies have shown Katemfe to be safe to add in food preparation, Katemfe is not yet recognized by the FDA as a safe is supplement form, so this herbalist only suggests Katemfe Fruit as a great way to sweeten foods and tea.

First described and isolated in 1972, Katemfe’s sweet intensity was demonstrated to be 1600 times that of sucrose (White Sugar) on a weight basis.

A team of 8 researchers in August 2024 found that an extract of Katemfe helped create anti-inflammatory bitter peptides.

They hypothesized that the sweet-tasting plant protein thaumatin (from Katemfe Fruit) would be cleaved into anti-inflammatory bitter peptides during gastric digestion. And it was! However the FDA only approves Katemfe for food use, at this time, so this Herbalist only recommend Katemfe as a sweetener and not as an anti-inflammatory.

For more information, check out this article from Newsweek: Sweetener Could Have Anti-Inflammatory Properties, Study Says