What is "monellin"

n. (context biochemistry English) A sweet protein found in ''Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii''.

Monellin, a sweet protein, was discovered in 1969 in the fruit of the West African shrub known as serendipity berry ( Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii); it was first reported as a carbohydrate. The protein was named in 1972 after the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, U.S.A., where it was isolated and characterized.