Curculigo is a flowering plant genus in the family
Hypoxidaceae, first described in 1788. It is widespread across tropical regions of
Asia,
Africa,
Australia, and the
Americas.[2][3]
Curculin is a sweet
protein that was discovered and isolated in 1990 from the fruit of Curculigo latifolia,[4] a plant from
Malaysia. Like
miraculin, curculin exhibits
taste-modifying activity; however, unlike miraculin, it also exhibits a sweet taste by itself. After consumption of curculin, water and sour solutions taste sweet. The plant is referred to locally as lembah or lumbah; English: 'weevil-wort'.[5]