Monk Fruit Extract Purification via Segmentation and Adsorption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current monk fruit sweetener products face challenges in achieving high mogroside V content while maintaining good sweetness quality and minimizing undesirable flavors like bitterness, due to imbalances in component ratios during purification processes.
Innovation Solution
A monk fruit extract with a mogroside V content of 65% to 85% by mass, protein content of 1% by mass or less, and polyphenol content of 0.1% by mass or less, achieved through a method involving solvent extraction, styrene-divinylbenzene-based synthetic adsorbent treatment, weakly basic anion exchange resin treatment, and nanofiltration or simulated moving bed methods to adjust the mogroside V content and remove impurities effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional purification methods are used to increase mogroside V content, then the mogroside V content increases, but the sweetness quality deteriorates and undesirable flavors increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the purification process into multiple distinct stages: (1) preliminary treatment with pectinase and cellulase enzymes to remove pectin and cellulose, (2) activated carbon adsorption to remove polyphenols and proteins, (3) ion exchange resin treatment to remove remaining impurities, and (4) concentration to achieve high mogroside V content. Each stage targets specific impurities, allowing progressive purification while preserving sweetness quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses multiple intermediary substances to facilitate purification: pectinase and cellulase enzymes as biological mediators to break down cell wall components, activated carbon as an adsorbent intermediary to capture polyphenols and proteins, and ion exchange resin as a mediator to remove remaining impurities. These intermediaries enable selective removal of harmful substances while preserving mogroside V.
2Manufacturing precision
If extensive purification is applied to remove all impurities, then purity increases, but the composition balance is disrupted and sweetness quality is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial purification by selectively removing only harmful impurities (polyphenols, proteins, pectin, cellulose) while deliberately preserving beneficial components that contribute to sweetness quality. The purification stops at the optimal point where mogroside V content reaches 60-80% without over-purifying to the point of disrupting compositional balance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent carefully controls process parameters to achieve the desired balance: enzyme treatment time and temperature are optimized to break down impurities without degrading mogrosides; activated carbon dosage and contact time are controlled to remove polyphenols while preserving sweetness; ion exchange resin conditions are adjusted to achieve 60-80% mogroside V content while maintaining compositional stability for optimal sweetness quality.
3Ease of manufacture
If simple extraction is used, then production cost decreases, but the extract contains too many impurities causing strange tastes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a continuous multi-stage purification process where each stage builds upon the previous one: enzyme treatment continuously breaks down impurities, activated carbon continuously adsorbs polyphenols and proteins, ion exchange resin continuously removes remaining impurities, and concentration continuously increases mogroside V content. This continuous action ensures thorough purification without requiring expensive intermediate storage and handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces simple mechanical filtration with biochemical and chemical processes: enzyme catalysis substitutes for mechanical size-based separation to break down complex impurities; activated carbon adsorption substitutes for mechanical filtration to remove polyphenols and proteins; ion exchange substitutes for mechanical separation to remove remaining impurities. These substitutions achieve superior purification at reasonable cost.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The resulting extract has a sweetness quality similar to sucrose with reduced bitterness and off-flavors, enabling large-scale industrial production of a high-quality monk fruit sweetener.
Implementation Method 1
a step of extracting monk fruit with an aqueous solvent
Implementation Method 2
a step of applying a styrene-divinylbenzene-based synthetic adsorbent treatment method to an aqueous solvent liquid extract
Implementation Method 3
a step of applying a weakly basic anion exchange resin treatment method to an adsorbent treated liquid
Implementation Method 4
a step of applying a simulated moving bed method or a nanofiltration membrane method to a solution including a monk fruit crude extract
Data Source
AI summary
To provide a monk fruit extract that has the high content of mogroside V, has good sweetness quality similar to sucrose, and has a less undesirable flavor such as bitterness and that can be easily and economically obtained on a large scale.A monk fruit extract of the present disclosure includes (a) 65% by mass to 85% by mass of mogroside V in the extract, (b) 1% by mass or less of a protein in the extract, and (c) 0.1% by mass or less of a polyphenol in the extract.