By EBELE ORAKPO

Mr. Alexander Giwa is a staff of the National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB), Ibadan. In this chat with Vanguard Learning during the 12th National Council on Science and Technology Meeting and Exhibition held in Ibadan recently, he spoke on one of the plants exhibited by the Centre, a common plant found in Nigeria whose leaves are used by the locals to wrap and boil moi-moi (bean pudding). Excerpts:

“In NACGRAB, our job is to conserve plant and animal genetic resources. We also have a biotechnology unit,” he said.

•Mr. Alexander Giwa showing off the plant. O

Thaumatococcus daniellii:
This plant also known as African serendipity berry, sweet prayer plant, Katemfe, or Ewe moi-moi in Yoruba, is found in tropical rain forests of West Africa where people usually use it for wrapping and boiling food, especially in Ghana and Nigeria. However, research has shown that the plant is a source of a natural sweetener which they claim is about 3,000 times sweeter than sugar.

Said Giwa; “The flesh of the fruit of thaumatococcus daniellii, contains thaumatins, a mixture of extremely sweet proteins which is about 3,000 times sweeter than sugar. It is natural sugar which makes it an excellent source of sweetener for diabetics. “

Qualities:
“This sweetener does not have any side effect and it is widely cultivated by the local people but a lot of people are running away from the cultivation because it takes between four and five years to produce fruit. The moment you start harvesting the leaves, it will stop producing fruits. So you can have it in two sections. If you have a small place at your backyard, you can use one part for fruit production and the other side for leaf production.

“This means that you can harvest the leaves for wrapping food like pounded yam and moi-moi but the one for fruits should not be touched and in less than five years; it will start producing fruits from which the sweetener can be extracted. It is a huge income earner if produced commercially because in many countries, it is used by the food and confectionary industry for substituting synthetic sweeteners.”