{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}} {{chembox | Verifiedfields = changed | Watchedfields = changed | verifiedrevid = 424981549 | ImageFile=hernandulcin structure.png | ImageSize=200px | PIN=(6''S'')-6-[(2''S'')-2-Hydroxy-6-methylhept-5-en-2-yl]-3-methylcyclohex-2-en-1-one | OtherNames= |Section1={{Chembox Identifiers | CASNo_Ref = {{cascite|correct|??}} | CASNo=95602-94-1 | UNII_Ref = {{fdacite|correct|FDA}} | UNII = 7V22TJL7NX | PubChem=125608 | SMILES=CC1=CC(=O)[C@@H](CC1)[C@](C)(CCC=C(C)C)O | ChemSpiderID_Ref = {{chemspidercite|changed|chemspider}} | ChemSpiderID = 111731 | InChI = 1/C15H24O2/c1-11(2)6-5-9-15(4,17)13-8-7-12(3)10-14(13)16/h6,10,13,17H,5,7-9H2,1-4H3/t13-,15+/m1/s1 | InChIKey = HYQNKKAJVPMBDR-HIFRSBDPBM | StdInChI_Ref = {{stdinchicite|changed|chemspider}} | StdInChI = 1S/C15H24O2/c1-11(2)6-5-9-15(4,17)13-8-7-12(3)10-14(13)16/h6,10,13,17H,5,7-9H2,1-4H3/t13-,15+/m1/s1 | StdInChIKey_Ref = {{stdinchicite|changed|chemspider}} | StdInChIKey = HYQNKKAJVPMBDR-HIFRSBDPSA-N }} |Section2={{Chembox Properties | Formula=C<sub>15</sub>H<sub>24</sub>O<sub>2</sub> | MolarMass=236.35 g/mol | Appearance= | Density= | MeltingPt= | BoilingPt= | Solubility= }} |Section3={{Chembox Hazards | MainHazards= | FlashPt= | AutoignitionPt = }} }} [[Image:Hernandulcin plant.jpg|thumb|The ''Phyla dulcis'' plant, which naturally produces hernandulcin.]] '''Hernandulcin''' is an intensely sweet chemical compound gained from the chiefly Mexican and South American plant ''Lippia dulcis''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dansukker.com/omsocker/sotningslexikon/skrivut.asp?id=140 |title=Dansukker Sweetness Glossary |access-date=August 19, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928002343/http://www.dansukker.com/omsocker/sotningslexikon/skrivut.asp?id=140 |archive-date=September 28, 2007 |url-status=dead}} </ref>
==History and origin== In the 1570s, Spanish physician Francisco Hernández<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_v127/ai_3614350 |title=Find Articles Science News (from 1985) |access-date=August 19, 2007 |author= |last= |first= |author-link= |year=1985 |format= |work=Science News |publisher= |pages= |language= |doi= |quote=}} </ref> described a remarkably sweet plant known to the Aztecs as Tzonpelic xihuitl, meaning "sweet herb". This reference, accompanied by an accurate description and illustration of the plant, led to a group of pharmacognocists in 1985 to a previously unrecognised, intensely sweet chemical that can provide sweetness without tooth decay. Cesar M. Compadre, and A. Douglas Kinghorn, from the University of Illinois at Chicago isolated and identified the sweet compound from the leaves and flowers of the ''Lippia dulcis'' plant, in Mexico. The researchers noted the chemical structure of the colourless oil, and named it hernandulcin after Francisco Hernandez.
== Structure == Hernandulcin is a sesquiterpene with the molecular formula C<sub>15</sub>H<sub>24</sub>O<sub>2</sub>. By slightly modifying the compound, researchers have identified the three parts of the chemical structure that produced the intense sweet taste—the carbonyl group, the hydroxyl group, and the hydrophobic side chain. Hernandulcin was the first sesquiterpene found to be sweet, and after a panel of volunteers tasted hernandulcin, it was determined that it was more than 1,000 times sweeter than sugar. Hernandulcin also has a minty aftertaste, and does not cause tooth decay, which would make it a good candidate for oral hygiene products.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline}}
Category:Sugar substitutes Category:Sesquiterpenes Category:Tertiary alcohols Category:Enones Category:Cyclohexenes