Oubli (Pentadiplandra brazzeana) is a climbing plant native to the tropical forests of Central and West Africa. Its small red berries contain brazzein, a protein that is roughly 500 to 2,000 times sweeter than sugar by weight, making it one of the sweetest naturally occurring substances known.
The plant’s name comes from a French word meaning “forgotten,” reflecting its obscurity outside its native range. Local communities in Cameroon, Gabon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have long eaten the berries as a sweet forest snack. The discovery of brazzein has attracted interest from food scientists exploring natural alternatives to artificial sweeteners.
Despite this scientific interest, oubli berries remain a wild-harvested forest product with no significant commercial supply chain. Brazzein itself has been produced through fermentation in laboratory settings, but large-scale commercialisation has not yet been achieved.
How it's produced
Oubli berries are gathered from wild vines growing in the understory of tropical rainforests in Central and West Africa. The plant has not been domesticated or commercially cultivated.
Local foragers harvest the ripe red berries by hand during the fruiting season. The berries are eaten fresh — their intense sweetness is immediately apparent. Because the plant grows in dense tropical forest and has not been brought into cultivation, there is no established farming or processing infrastructure. Research into producing brazzein through biotechnology (microbial fermentation or transgenic crops) is ongoing but has not reached commercial scale.
What it costs the planet (per kilo)
≈ Estimated from its category — typical for sugar, not measured for this item yet. Sources & methods →
What comes from this
Your household's take
One thumb per person, shared with your household — it steers what the wider-web shelf and the swap chips offer you. Tap again to take it back.
✎ Spotted something wrong? Suggest a correction
Checking who you are...