Capparis masaikai

 ( Masaikai ) 

Capparis masaikai, known as mabinlang,Data Portal of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Biodiversity occurrence data for Capparis masaikai H. Léveillé grows in the subtropical region of the Yunnan province of China and bear fruits of tennis-ball size. The mature seeds are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

They are also used as sweets; the seeds elicit a sweet taste when chewed.X Liu, S Maeda, Z Hu, T Aiuchi, K Nakaya, Y Kurihara. Purification, complete amino acid sequence and structural characterization of the heat-stable sweet protein, mabinlin II. Eur J Biochem 1993. 211(1–2):281-7.

The origin of the sweet taste was identified as sweet-tasting proteins named . They are highly sweet, 100-400 times sweeter than sucrose on a weight basis.S Nirasawa, T Nishino, M Katahira, S Uesugi, Z Hu, Y Kurihara. Structures of heat-stable and unstable homologues of the sweet protein mabinlin. Eur J Biochem 1994, 223(3):989-95.