Nambawan Spain commercializes sweetener protein from plant molecular farming

Green-tech food innovator Nambawan Spain has commercially launched Thaûma, a sweetener produced through plant-molecular farming. As a non-caloric, non-glycemic, and flavor modifier, the thaumatin II protein is designed to help food and beverage manufacturers overcome historic challenges in sugar reduction. 

Nutrition Insight speaks to Yuri Gleba, Ph.D., CEO of Nambawan Spain, about the “most potent natural sweetener known to science,” which the company positions as an effective co-sweetener that enhances the performance of natural sugar alternatives while significantly reducing formulation costs.

“Thaûma is an excellent, GLP-friendly natural sugar substitute for individuals on medications like Wegovy, Ozempic, or Mounjaro,” he says. “It satisfies sweet cravings without causing insulin spikes (is non-glycemic), and it is highly unlikely to survive in the digestive tract to interact with gut receptors that regulate natural GLP-1 levels.”

Sweetness intensity

Thaûma delivers sweetness intensity up to 13,600 times greater than sugar, at 5 SEV (Sucrose Equivalent Value), Gleba highlights. It functions at very low use levels of one to five parts per million, which is 75 to 230 times lower than stevia or monk fruit, according to Nambawan.

“Thaûma exhibits an excellent synergy or additivity with almost all other sweeteners, likely due to the fact that its binding site to the sweet taste receptor (CRD of the TAS1R3 subunit) on our tongue is different from the binding site of most sugars and artificial and natural sweeteners (VFT domain TAS1R2),” says Gleba.

“The additional big advantage of blending Thaûma with other sweeteners comes from the fact that, unlike sugars, all high-intensity sweeteners have a highly non-linear sweetness response to concentration, making the sweetness cost of blends significantly lower than that of standalone sweeteners.”

Thaûma restores full sweetness at 1–3 ppm while replacing up to 66% of main sweeteners, and modifies flavors below 0.7 ppm to enhance taste and mask off-notes.

Nambawan Spain has worked with multiple blends of Thaûma, including sugar, stevia, monk fruit, and Brazzein, as well as some tri-blends with stevia compounds Reb M and Reb A. It has also developed a number of product prototypes in categories of carbonated drinks, flavored waters, yogurts, and dried teas.

“The sweetness cost of blending Thaûma with stevia, monk fruit, or Brazzein is lower by 13% to 48%. Even higher reductions are possible in multi-blends,” highlights Gleba. “As a flavor, Thaûma is similar, but less expensive than marketed Thaumatin, offering endless possibilities of its use as a flavor or aroma modifier.”

“In sweetener blends with other natural high-intensity sweeteners such as stevia and monk fruit, Thaûma improves the sensory properties of other sweeteners by lowering bitter, fruity, fermented, astringent, and other off-notes in the final product.”

In all these blends, the main sweetener amount was reduced by 50% by weight, and in tri-blends, by 66%, says Gleba. Thaûma was able to restore the sweetness back to the same level, at 1–3 ppm, while improving the overall taste.

He adds that typical Thaûma use level for flavor modulation will be below 0.7 ppm (when it is not sweet alone). It can be used to enhance sourness, saltiness, umami, and sweetness, to mask bitterness, metallic, fruity, fermented, and astringency off-notes, as well as to modulate the flavor and aroma of multiple substances.

Potent sweetener

Unlike many natural sweeteners that face agricultural limitations and supply volatility, Thaûma is sustainably produced using plant molecular farming technology. This production method offers a transparent, reliable, and scalable supply chain capable of supporting growing global demand.

Gleba suggests that Thaûma can be applied in functional beverages, nutrition products, dairy, confectionery, and other reduced-sugar applications. Its development and commercial use are backed by five FDA approvals, certification from the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (as Generally Recognized as Safe), and a safety certification from the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives.

“Thaûma provides the product designer with an excellent tool that allows to almost halve the cost of sweetener while optimizing the taste,” he adds. “For example, at current Thaumatin and Reb M prices and at 10 SEV, the sweetness cost in use of the di-blend of Thaûma with Reb M is around 3.9 cents per liter or 37% lower than the cost of Reb M alone (7.8 US cents).”

Health positionings

According to Innova Market Insights consumer trends research, consumers globally do not trust artificial sweeteners and newer sweeteners are a source of confusion.

“Consumers may not understand where sweeteners come from, how they affect health, and whether they are safe. It is important for brands to deliver ingredient information in a transparent way that explains the origins of sweeteners along with their health benefits,” highlights the global market researcher.

Gleba comments: “I doubt we’ll find additional functionalities for Thaûma, for very simple reasons: first, our intake of the protein will be very insignificant, a few milligrams per day at most; second, the protein is highly susceptible to enzymatic degradation, so after a brief interaction with various taste receptors on your tongue, it will be rapidly digested by proteases in the mouth and later, in the stomach and duodenum.”

“Peptides generated during digestion, again, will be short-lived and present in too low amounts to affect any other processes or regulatory circuits in your body. So, in my opinion, a ‘happy zero’ effect.”