Miracle fruit turns sour into sweet

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- A Florida grower said demand is rising for a red berry nicknamed "miracle fruit" that can make sour things taste sweet.

Curtis Mozie said the berries, which are native to West Africa, change taste for more than two hours, making sour things such as limes taste like candy, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Monday.

Scientists said the berry, Synsepalum dulcificum, contains a glycoprotein called miraculin that changes taste.

Mozie, who has more than a thousand "miracle fruit" trees in his orchard, charges $3 a berry and ships 3,000 berries a week, the newspaper said. Cancer treatment centers have contacted him to see if the fruit will boost the appetite of chemotherapy patients, the newspaper said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.