
Stevia is a low calorie, natural, intensive sweetener.
Stevia plant is a South American Origin herb that has been used as a sweetener by the Guarani Indians of Paraguay for hundreds of years.Chewing raw or fresh stevia will leave a strong, sweet taste that does not quickly dissipate as sugar.
Dried extracts 'Steviol glycoside'are white to slight yellowish, crystalline, odourless, slight characteristic odour, water-soluble powders.The raw extracts,Steviol glycoside usually contain as the major components the Stevioside (CAS 57817-89-7) and Rebaudioside A(CAS 58543-16-1), along with smaller amounts of other steviol glycosides, such as Rebaudioside B and C, Dulcoside A, Rubusoside and Steviolbioside.
Steviol Glycosides | Short | Sweeteness | Content |
Stevioside | STv | 270-300 | 57.30% |
Rebaudioside A | Reb A | 350-450 | 32.00% |
Rebaudioside C | Reb C | 40-60 | 8.00% |
Dulcoside A | D A | 40-60 | 1.50% |
rebaudioside D | Reb D | 150-250 | 0.60% |
Rebaudioside E | Reb E | 100-150 | 0.50% |
Other | Other | 10-15 | 0.10% |
[The table shows different ingredients of steviol glycosides. Reb-A is the best ingredients of all. Less sweet ingredients such as Reb C, Dulcoside should be removed from the extracts for a better taste.]
The Stevia industry has many solutions to balance the taste and costs. Thus you can find many different grades in the industry, from Steviol Glycoside 80%, to Reb-A 99%. They have the same common name stevia, but sweet taste and the price are so different. People should find the proper grade to meet their requirement.