The miracle fruit of the acim audio berry plant is an amazing fruit which when eaten, causes sour foods eaten after it, to taste sweet. The miracle fruit plant, scientifically known as Synsepalum dulcificum, bears berries which are rich storehouses of polyphenols.
The fruit was first documented by an explorer named Chevalier des Marchais. He had noticed the local tribes of West Africa plucking the berries from the shrubs and chewing them before time. In its native habitat, the plant of miracle berry can grow up to 20 feet in height and occurs in bushes.
However, if the plant is cultivated it will not grow more than 10 feet in height. When cultivated, the plant produces two crops every year with the end of the monsoons. The plant species of miracle fruit is an evergreen plant which fruits tiny red berries with white flowers. The seeds of the miracle fruit are no more than the size of the coffee beans. The berry has very low sugar content with a mild sweet tang.
The fruit also stores active glycoprotein with trace amounts of carbohydrates called miraculin. This molecule pairs up with the taste buds of the tongue, when the fleshy part of the berry is eaten and that is why when sour foods like lime or lemon are eaten, they taste sweet.
Though the explanation of this change in taste is based on a hypothesis, most researchers believe that the transformation in taste is due to the distortion of the sweetness receptors by miraculin which makes them reactive to acids instead of sweet things like sugar. The effect of this berry remains for 15 to 60 minutes. The fruit is extensively grown in the Ghana region of West Africa. These days the fruit is marketed as ice lollies and candies. Besides this, the fruits are also marketed for fresh consumption.
