Thaumatin (also known as talin) is a low-calorie sweetener and flavour modifier. The protein is often used primarily for its flavour-modifying properties and not exclusively as a sweetener. The thaumatins were first found as a mixture of proteins isolated from the katemfe fruit (Thaumatococcus daniellii Bennett) (marantaceae) of West Africa. Although very sweet, thaumatin's taste is markedly different from sugar's. The sweetness of thaumatin builds very slowly. Perception lasts a long time, leaving a liquorice-like aftertaste at high concentrations. Thaumatin is highly water soluble, stable to heating, and stable under acidic conditions. Despite its intrinsic properties, thaumatin is a easy to crystallize protein, and has been extensively used as a model to study crystallization rules and dynamics. Here you have one recent x-ray structure of thaumatin determined at 1.2 A resolution and crystallized into a gel matrix (PDB code: 6COA)
#molecularart ... #immolecular ... #thaumatin ... #sweetprotein ... #crystallization... #model ... #gel ... #xray
Protein rendered with @proteinimaging and graphical effects produced with @corelphotopaint
#molecularart ... #immolecular ... #thaumatin ... #sweetprotein ... #crystallization... #model ... #gel ... #xray
Protein rendered with @proteinimaging and graphical effects produced with @corelphotopaint
