Brazzein protein halved glucose spikes after ice cream

Scientists from the Russian Federal Research Centre of Nutrition, Biotechnology and Food Safety tested whether the protein brazzein can replace sugar in ice cream. Glucose spikes after such a dessert turned out to be about half as large as after regular ice cream. The results were published in the journal Clinical Nutrition ESPEN. Brazzein is a protein from the fruit of a West African plant, now mainly produced using genetically modified fungi; by sweetness it surpasses sugar by up to 2,000 times at equal mass.

How the trial was conducted

The trial involved 101 adults with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). The work was a randomized double-blind crossover study: on three different days, each participant ate a standard 100-gram serving of vanilla ice cream — with sugar, with brazzein, and with brazzein plus the dietary fiber inulin.

After both sugar-free versions, the rise in glucose was about half as large as after regular ice cream. The difference was especially noticeable in people with type 2 diabetes, though it remained substantial in the others as well. No serious side effects were recorded.

The researchers' caveats: the sugar-free formulations also differed in other ingredients, so the effect cannot be attributed to brazzein alone. In addition, the sample is narrow, containing only people with MASLD, many of them with obesity.

Brazzein is stable when heated up to 80 °C and across a wide range of acidity, so it can potentially be added to various products, including frozen desserts. However, sugar in ice cream provides more than sweetness: it also provides bulk and viscosity. The study showed that other fillers together with brazzein make it possible to obtain a product very similar to regular ice cream.

What is still unknown

How such a substitution would affect liver fat, diabetes, blood pressure and the microbiome over months and years is not yet known. The authors call for long-term studies in which sugar would be replaced with brazzein in various frequently consumed products.

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Translation editor: Ловушкин А.