Rubusoside Sweetener Preparation Through Water Extraction

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for extracting sweetening compositions from Rubus suavissimus S. Lee require large amounts of organic reagents, leading to high costs, environmental unfriendliness, and quality issues due to residual solvents.

Innovation Solution

A method involving pretreatment to remove bitter glycosides, extraction with water, adsorption of phenolic hydroxyl-containing components using polar macroporous resins, concentration and purification with nanofiltration membranes, and crystallization in a water phase under ultraviolet light to obtain a sweetening composition without organic solvents.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If organic solvents are used for extraction and purification, then extraction efficiency is improved, but production cost increases and environmental pollution occurs

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveextraction efficiencyVSAvoidorganic solvent consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the extraction parameter from organic solvent to water, achieving efficient extraction of rubusoside through water extraction combined with macroporous resin adsorption. This parameter change eliminates organic solvent consumption while maintaining high extraction efficiency, directly resolving the contradiction between productivity and substance consumption.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the chemical extraction system (organic solvents) with a physical-chemical combined system (water extraction + macroporous resin adsorption). The macroporous resin selectively adsorbs rubusoside from water extract, achieving separation without organic solvents, thus substituting the harmful chemical system with a cleaner alternative.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Manufacturing precision

If multiple purification steps are performed, then product purity is improved, but production complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveproduct purityVSAvoidprocess complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines multiple purification functions into a single macroporous resin adsorption step. The resin simultaneously performs concentration, purification, and separation functions that would traditionally require multiple separate steps, thereby achieving high product purity while reducing process complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The macroporous resin acts as an intermediary substance that facilitates purification. It selectively binds rubusoside from the water extract, allowing impurities to be removed in one step. The resin can then be eluted with alcohol to recover pure rubusoside, simplifying the overall purification process while maintaining high precision.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

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 method achieves a pure, white, and sweet-tasting composition with high Rubusoside content, reducing environmental impact and production costs while maintaining product quality.

Implementation Method 1

allowing the extract solution to pass through a polar macroporous adsorption resin such that the phenolic hydroxyl-containing components are adsorbed

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectAdsorption: Adsorption

Implementation Method 2

allowing the effluent collected in step S3 to pass through a nanofiltration membrane with a pore diameter of 1 to 2 nm for concentrating and purifying

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectNanofiltration: Semipermeable Membrane

Implementation Method 3

crystallizing at a temperature of 0°C to 10°C to obtain crystals of a sweetening composition

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectCrystallization: Crystallisation

Data Source

PatentEP3736280B1Preparation method of a sweetener composition from rubus suavissimus
Publication Date: 2025.10.15 HUNAN NUSTREETCARAX
  • EP3736280B1 patent drawingFigure 1~3
  • EP3736280B1 patent drawingFigure 4~6

AI summary

The present invention relates to a sweetening composition and a preparation method and use thereof. The method comprises the steps of obtaining mesophyll fragments of Rubus suavissimus S. Lee, extracting with water as a solvent, removing phenolic hydroxyl-containing components, concentrating, purifying, and water-phase crystallization to obtain a sweetening composition. The sweetening composition is white in color, with unobvious bitterness astringent taste. The sweetening composition contains 50% to 99% of Rubusoside based on a dry weight, and has an absorbance of less than 0.4 at a wavelength of 270 to 370 nm after being dissolved and prepared into an aqueous solution (with a solid content of 1%, w/w). By removing bitter glycosides and phenolic hydroxyl-containing components, the present invention makes the flavor of the sweetening composition better. In the preparation process of the sweetening composition of the present invention, only purified water is used and no organic solvents such as ethanol are used, and thus the production process is green and healthy, and is also suitable for the production of organic products of Rubus suavissimus S. Lee. The present invention also includes the sweetening composition obtained by this method and the use of the sweetening composition in foods, beverages, health products, daily chemicals and medicines.