Monk Fruit

Monk fruit, Siraitia grosvenorii, is a herbaceous perennial vine of the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, native to southern China, where it has been cultivated for centuries, particularly in provinces such as Guangxi near Guilin. The fruit's extract contains compounds called mogrosides, which function as a low-calorie sugar substitute used in beverages, with mogroside V producing sweetness reported at 250 times that of sucrose, making it an extremely potent natural sweetener suited to commercial food use. Beyond its role as a sweetener, monk fruit extract has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat cough and sore throat.