You’ve probably already heard of the “miracle fruit” or Synsepalum dulcificum — which alters your tastebuds and makes everything taste sweet.

For about 15-30 minutes after you eat some, everything sour is sweet. Lemons lose their zing, hot sauce that usually burns your tongue tastes like honey.

Apparently this fruit is all the rage too at “taste tripping” parties where people pay $US10-$35 per berry and then eat things which no human should really eat.

Its good to see however that this fruit finally seems to being put to some good use. About 5 months ago a Miami hospital began testing whether the fruit’s sweetening effects could restore the appetite of cancer patients whose chemo leaves them with dulled taste buds.

According to Dr Mike Cusnir, a lead researcher on the project at Mount Sinai Medical Centre : “What happens in patients is the food tastes so metallic and bland, it becomes repulsive … Most of the patients undergoing chemotherapy have weight loss. Then they cut further into their diet and then this furthers the weight loss. It causes malnutrition, decreased function of the body and electrolyte imbalance”

Preliminary results look promising. Of course not everybody reported dramatic changes but really, any improvement would have to be work it.

Embedded video from CNN Video