Synsepalum dulcificum, is also known by many other names such as miracle fruit, flavour berry, miracle berry and magical berry to name but a few. It's an evergreen shrub found in West Africa and was first documented in 1725 by the French explorer Chevalier des Marchais.

Chevalier Des Marchais travelled at length around the west coast of Africa, the north west coast of South America and the West Indies. Among the fascinating inhabitants and diverse flora and fauna he documented on his many journeys, is a detailed account he recorded in 1725 during an expedition to West Africa.

Des Marchais had stumbled across a village where the indigenous population consumed a few simple foods, none of which were agreeable to his palate. Sour liquids and gruels were complimented by bitter corn bread, fermented palm beer and sour wine. This unappetising mix appeared to be the villager's staple diet.

However, Des Marchais noticed that they ate small red berries before their main meals and curious, he tried some himself. What he discovered was that the barely edible food he was resigned to eating throughout his stay, was transformed into a delicious and sweet meal simply by chewing the miracle fruit berry first.

In the mid nineteenth century the plant and its miracle fruit were named Synsepalum dulcificum, a member of the Sapotaceae family which includes over eight hundred types of evergreen trees and shrubs, many of which bear edible fruits.

By 1852, a botanist, Dr. W. F. Danieall stationed at an outpost in West Africa, published an article in the Pharmaceutical Journal in which, he dubbed Synsepalum dulcificum the miraculous berry.

Word soon spread about the properties of this magical miracle fruit with opportunists quickly realising the importance and commercial potential in the manufacture of miracle fruit products.

Since Dr Danieall's publication, millions of dollars and countless hours of research have poured into the development of the miracle fruit berry as a sugar substitute, an industry that is potentially worth billions of dollars worldwide.

Sadly, the berries of the miracle fruit plant are perishable, only last a few days from the time they are picked and do not travel well. The shipping methods of the day meant that miracle fruit was impossible to transport over any distance and cultivating the miracle fruit plant commercially outside its natural environment proved largely unsuccessful too.

The benefits of the mysterious and magical miracle fruit berry would have to wait until present day technology allowed otherwise.

By the early 20th century, David Fairchild, a botanist who worked for the United States Department of Agriculture, was the first to bring miracle fruit to the U.S. from its native Africa and by 1968, the active protein in the fruit was isolated by Lloyd Beidler a Professor at Florida State University, and his partner Dr. Kenzo Kurihara.

Coincidentally at about the same time, Dutch researchers were running similar trials with the miracle fruit berry and named the active protein Miraculin. Others believe that this name originated from Professor Kenzo Kurihara and Lloyd Beidler.

In any event, Miraculin was first sequenced in 1968 and is a a glycoprotein comprising 191 amino acids and some carbohydrate chains.

The problem is that glycoprotein is sensitive to heat and so Miraculin loses its taste-altering properties when heated to over one hundred degrees farenheit, another reason why early pioneers and entrepreneurs failed to successfuly bring canned and bottled miracle fruit products to the mass market.

Exhaustive tests of the miracle fruit berry on animals and humans has concluded that Synsepalum dulcificum is safe for consumption and the animals that were given a diet of miracle fruit displayed signs of being healthier at the end of trials than the animals that had not been exposed to the miracle fruit berry.

The main driving force behind bringing miracle fruit products to market was the Miralin Company, founded by Don Emery and his business partner Robert Harvey, a biomedical postgraduate student.

Co-operating with the Food And Drug Administration, the Miralin Company spent many months of testing and a considerable dollar investment in getting ready to bring miracle fruit to the mass market and offer consumers a range of miracle fruit products.

Without warning and despite a healthy relationship with the FDA, on the eve of the company's launch in 1974, the FDA classified miracle fruit as a food additive and denied its approval for general use in miracle fruit products.

This resulted in the Miralin Company being faced with the prospect of many more years of research, testing and investment before bringing miracle fruit products to the mass market. As a result, it was eventually forced to file for bankruptcy and subsequently fired over 250 employees.

To-date, no other company has attempted to continue funding research into the miracle fruit berry to the same extent as the Miralin Company did back in the early seventies..

So what happened to the anticpated growth of miracle fruit as a viable sugar substitute and why aren't miracle fruit products available in stores or widely used today?

Bioresources International with operations in the U.S. and Ghana, is producing freeze-dried miracle berry powder at its plant in New Jersey enabling consumers to buy miracle fruit products via its distributors and retailers

In Tokyo, the miracle fruit berry is making inroads into the market as small shops and cafes such as the Miracle Fruits Cafe in the city's Ikebukuro district sell miracle fruit products along with low calorie deserts to Japanese dieters.

In addition, the beneficial effects of the miracle fruit berry are allegedly showing positive benefits in the recovery of some people undergoing chemotherapy. Patients often lose their desire to eat due to the destruction of their taste buds or a bad taste in the mouth as a side effect of the treatment and drugs they have to take. Some evidence has shown that miracle fruit products can help to ease the unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy.

Diabetics too buy miracle fruit products as it allows them to eat healthy foods and benefit from the sweet taste of sugar they often crave with none of the associated side effects of sugar.

Although the FDA continues to refuse approval for using Miraculin in miracle fruit products, it's perfectly legal to grow and sell the miracle fruit berry because prior approval is not required to grow and sell fresh miracle fruit.

In fact, miracle fruit has enjoyed extensive world-wide media coverage in 2008 resulting in the opportunity to buy miracle fruit products via the internet in tablet, powder and fresh fruit form.