Edited by Yongyuan Bio Amy

Stevioside Introduction

Stevioside is a food additive (high sweetener) extracted and refined from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana. Stevioside is a tetracyclic diterpenoid compound with high sweetness and low calorie content, which belongs to natural sugar substitutes (non-chemical synthesis). It has been praised as "plant sugar king", "the best natural sweetener" and "the third generation healthy sugar source" in the world.

Stevioside characteristics

Pure natural: it comes from natural plant Stevia.

High sweetness: its sweetness is 150-450 times that of sucrose.

Low calorie: only 1/300 of white sugar (commonly known as zero carbohydrate).

High cost performance: the cost of Stevia is only 1/3 of sucrose.

Good stability: heat resistance, acid resistance, alkali resistance, and not easy to decompose.

Good solubility: soluble in water, easily soluble in organic solvents such as ethanol.

High safety: the pharmacology test of the international authoritative organization proves that it has no toxic side effects.

Long shelf life: stable performance, bacteriostatic effect, easy to store.

Constituent

The sweetness components of Stevia have been identified, such as stevioside, rebaudioside A, B, C, D, E, F, Dulcoside A, etc. They are all glycosides with the same aglycone-steviol, and differ only in the type, quantity and configuration of glycoside bonded sugars. Because they are sweet glycosides, commonly known as stevioside (Steviol Glycosides).

Stevioside products are divided into: stevioside (total glucoside), stevioside RA (rebaudioside A), stevioside (STV), enzyme modified stevioside (bio-fermentation), family table sugar (compound stevioside), rebaudioside D, rebaudioside M, single glycoside compound stevioside.

Flow Chart

Soaked in purified water, and the production process is not added, involving any toxic substances, so as to ensure the safety of the final product.

Product types: RA series, SG series, STV series, enzyme modification series, and other single glycosides.

Reb-A series stevioside:

Reb-A glycoside is the best sweetener in stevioside. The product is produced with specially cultivated Stevia. Its taste is refreshing and delicious, no aftertaste bitter, sweet taste is not easy to disappear in the mouth. This product can better improve the taste quality of food and improve the quality and level of products. Sweetness is up to 400 times that of sucrose.

Specifications: Reb-A 40%- 99%

Common stevioside:

It is the most widely used stevioside products are produced according to the national standard of China. The products are white to yellowish crystalline powder or granules. The sweetness is cool and durable. The product has the characteristics of high sweetness, low calorie and high cost performance. Its sweetness is 250 times of sucrose, and its calorie is only 1/300 of sucrose.

Specifications: Stevia 80% -95%

Enzyme modified stevioside:

Enzymatic conversion of steviose is a kind of steviose product with improved taste produced by enzymatic fermentation technology. It can remove the bitterness of stevia extract and improve the solubility of the product. The sweetness of the product is 100-200 times that of sucrose. The product is white or light yellow powder or granule, sweet and refreshing.

Product specification: GS Stevia 80%- 95%

Security

Stevioside is a natural green sweetener extracted from Stevia rebaudiana. It has been recognized as "green food" by China Green Food Development Certification Center.

Stevia has been eating in its origin for more than 400 years. Up to now, no poison has been found. Steviose does not participate in metabolism, does not accumulate, no toxic side effects, its safety has been recognized by international FAO and WHO and other organizations. The Japanese Food Additives Association has long established that steviose is a sweetener that does not require special limits. Since 1985 and 1990, steviose has been approved by the Ministry of Health as an unlimited natural sweetener and pharmaceutical sweetener supplement.

Comparison: Stevia rebaudiana and Siraitia grosvenorii

Stevia rebaudiana and Siraitia grosvenorii are currently the hottest natural sweetener ingredients. The biggest selling points of these two ingredients are: zero calories, natural, commercial availability, and high flexibility in formulation.

The proportion of Mogroside in the natural sweetener market is relatively small, which is 2.2%. In the 2014-2015 years, the sales of natural products of  Mogroside reached 2 million 600 thousand dollars, far less than stevioside. The main reason for this is that the yield of Siraitia grosvenorii is lower and the cost of planting and processing is higher than stevia. The number of orchards and extraction equipment of Momordica Grosvenor is far less than that of Stevia, and manufacturers may need to lower the price of Siraitia grosvenori to win the competition.

Fermentation and enzymatic methods

Fermentation extraction and enzymatic extraction are two different extraction methods. Some manufacturers use enzymatic extraction to enhance the taste and flavor of sweeteners. Stevioside with a purity of 95% was obtained by traditional extraction method, and then glucose or other sugar molecule was added to the stevioside by natural enzymes to enhance the taste of stevioside.

Fermentation extraction is completely different from enzymatic extractio, sometimes even without Stevia leaves. The same glycosides were produced by yeast fermentation by transplanting genes from Stevia rebaudiana producing Reb M and Reb D into yeast.

ADI:

JECFA has determined that the long-term acceptable daily intake of stevioside is equal to 4 mg/kg body weight steviol, or 12 mg/kg body weight stevioside. The maximum amount of stevioside in Coca-Cola products is 60 mg/250 mg (about 8.33 ounces) in the worldwide.

Application:

A large number of experiments have proved that stevioside no toxic side effects, no carcinogens, food safety. Often eat can prevent hypertension, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, dental caries and other diseases. It is a very ideal sweetener to replace sucrose, widely used in food, beverage, medicine, sweetener, submerged food, brewing, cosmetics, tobacco, daily chemical and other sugar fields.