Brazzein is a sweet-tasting protein that occurs naturally in oubli (Pentadiplandra brazzeana), a fruit native to the Atlantic coastal areas of Central Africa.

Brazzein is found in the extracellular region of oubli fruit, in the pulp tissue surrounding the seeds.

[5][6] The Oubli plant (from which the protein was isolated) grows in Gabon and Cameroon, where its fruit has been consumed by the apes and local people for a long time.

[16] Papers have been published showing it can be made in a laboratory using peptide synthesis[10] and recombinant proteins were successfully produced via E.

[17] The Texas companies Prodigene and Nectar Worldwide were among the licensees to use Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation patents on brazzein, and genetically engineer it into maize.

[16] A company was formed to bring it to market as a sweetener in 2008, which initially said it would start selling the product by 2010 once it obtained agreement from the FDA that its brazzein was generally recognized as safe (GRAS).

[18] In 2024, the brand Oobli received the first GRAS certification from the FDA, with no potential concerns for consumption being raised.