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Have you ever seen a monk fruit? If your answer is 'No', you’re not alone!

Monk fruit has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine and it has gained wild popularity in the modern food world as a zero-calorie "natural" sweetener.

But is what you see on the shelves really as pure as the labels claim?

Let’s dive into the details of monk fruit sweeteners and uncover what’s really inside.

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Monk Fruit and its history

Monk fruit, also known as Luo Han Guo, is a small green melon native to China.

Its sweetness comes from mogrosides, compounds that are 100 to 300 times sweeter than sugar.

This makes monk fruit an attractive option for those looking to reduce sugar intake without sacrificing sweetness​.

Historically, the Chinese have used monk fruit to sweeten teas and tonics, making it a natural sweetener with a long-standing cultural presence .
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What you need to know

Purity of Monk Fruit Extracts

If you’ve ever purchased a monk fruit sweetener, you might assume you’re getting a natural, unprocessed product.

However, the truth is a little more complex. Extracting pure mogrosides—particularly mogroside V, which is the sweetest.

Mogrosides make up only a small fraction (about 0.5%–1.4%) of the fruit, which means that producing a small amount of extract requires processing a large volume of fruit​.

Given this, most monk fruit sweeteners on the market simply cannot be pure extracts. Instead, they’re often mixed with fillers such as erythritol or maltodextrin to bulk up the product, making it easier to use as a sugar substitute.

This blend is still marketed as “monk fruit extract”, but the truth is that pure mogroside extract is rare, and most commercial products are far from pure!
Price of Monk Fruit Sweetener

The price of monk fruit sweeteners can vary significantly, and this is largely due to differences in purity and formulation.

Some products contain a higher concentration of mogrosides, which increases the price because extracting these compounds is both labour and fruit-intensive. On the other hand, cheaper versions often contain more fillers, which reduce the overall cost.

Another reason for the price disparity is the lack of standardisation in the industry. There is no clear regulation or standard for how much mogroside needs to be in a product for it to be labeled as “monk fruit extract.” As a result, consumers can easily be misled into thinking they’re consuming pure monk fruit when, in fact, the product contains more filler than fruit​.
What labels don’t tell

The labels on monk fruit sweeteners often claim they’re "natural" or "pure," but many fail to disclose the additional ingredients used to bulk up the product. These may include erythritol, glycerine, or other sweeteners, and they often remain undisclosed due to lax labeling regulations.

The commercial names "monk fruit extract" or "stevia extract" are often used to conceal these additives behind what sounds like a natural product.

So, while monk fruit extract itself is natural, the highly processed version you’re likely consuming is far from what traditional Chinese cultures once enjoyed.

The ultra-processing of monk fruit for mass production strips away most of the fruit’s natural components too.
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