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Assessment of stevia (Stevia rebaudiana)-natural sweetener: A review

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Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) is the sweetener of the future. Steviosides and rebaudiosides are the sweetest form of stevia. Stevioside is commonly used as a non-caloric sugar substitute in Japan, Korea, Brazil, China and Paraguay. Pure stevia extract does not affect blood glucose level and may be used freely by diabetics. Stevia also has important role in medical research for treating diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, tooth cavity and skin problems. The safety of stevia extracts has been confirmed by various toxicity, mutagenicity and other studies. Although more recent studies appear to establish the safety of stevia, government agencies have expressed concerns over toxicity, citing lack of sufficient conclusive research.
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... There are some studies where the plant height can reach up to 70-80 cm (Hossain et al. 2017;Panpatil and Polasa 2008). After the first harvest, the decrease in temperatures (especially night temperatures) caused the plants to start the flowering process, and reduced the plant height. ...
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Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) is a medicinal plant whose leaves are used as a natural sweetener. This study was carried out to determine the agronomic performances, yield, and macro-micronutrients in the leaves of the plant under semi-arid conditions. For this purpose, field experiments were conducted in four different locations (Kahta, Menderes, Hasancık and ADYÜTAYAM) of Adıyaman province which is located in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. 0.5 ha of land was prepared for each location. Plots were created as three replicates and the seedlings were transplanted in 70 cm × 33 cm row distances. Plants were harvested 2 times in one growing season. Fresh and dry herb yields in the first harvest were measured as 13,949.5 and 3900.3 kg ha⁻¹, respectively, and at the second harvest as 6923.5 and 1920.6 kg ha⁻¹, respectively, from Menderes location. Something similar happened with regards to the ratio of leaves per plant. The K and Mn contents of leaves were not found to be statistically different. With regards to the macro and micro-nutrients measured in stevia leaves, N (2.29–3.40%) and P (0.20–0.31%), Zn (21.4–44.7 mg kg⁻¹), Cu (13.8–34.5 mg kg⁻1) and Fe (204.1–446.9 mg kg⁻¹) values were found to be statistically significant. These nutrients were affected by location and harvesting time. TSG, Reb A and Stevioside contents in stevia leaves were measured as 10.93%, 4.73% and 4.95%, respectively. The results are similar to the values specified for Criolla variety. Considering the data obtained from the study locations, it was observed that stevia can be grown easily in semi-arid conditions. It is also concluded that at least two harvests can be taken in semi-arid conditions.
... The use of stevia in baked products is suitable since it maintains its stability throughout the baking process and can be heated up to 200°C [34]. The non-nutritive high intensity sweeteners contribute to the sweet taste of the product, but the maintenance of texture, colour, and flavour is also crucial. ...
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Health benefits of stevia
... Several literatures revealed the broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity of Stevia extract (Tadhani and Subhash, 2006;Ghosh et al., 2008;. Stevia extract contains stevioside which has remarkable stability in aqueous solutions over a wide range of pH values and temperature (Panpatil and Polasa, 2008;Abou Arab et al., 2010) and even it has no allergic reaction when it used as food sweetener or preservative (Pol et al., 2007). Thereafter, in water extract, the major components such as quercetin dehydrate, protocatechnic acid, and quercetin glycosyl are present which act as protective effects (Tadhani et al., 2007). ...
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Polyherbal toothpastes are gaining importance due to less side effects and maintain the healthy teeth than non herbal toothpastes but use of sole herbal in toothpaste formulation with multiple action is rare. The aim of the present research was to formulate and evaluate herbal toothpaste, prepared with Stevia extract. Four different formulations were prepared: 0.5%, 1.0%, 2% and 3%. All the formulated toothpaste was satisfied with all the required conditions for avoiding halitosis, prevent dental caries and periodontal diseases. The formulated herbal toothpaste compared with marketed preparation. Various physical parameters were evaluated as per Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), and International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines and revealed F3 (2% Stevia extract) was the better formulation with respect to various compiled results. The colour of F3 formulation was moss green, smooth in nature, relative density 11.098, pH-7.12, extrudability-96.2%, good spreadability (5.4 cm/sec), viscosity (78302 cP) and quite stable for 6 months. The antimicrobial activity is evaluated against both the Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and revealed formulated herbal toothpaste with 2.0 % Stevia extract exhibited significant activity with the zone of inhibition against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria at MIC of 20 g/ml. The result of this investigation showed better patronizing and engrossing passion over commercial preparation (non-herbal and herbal) with formulated natural Stevia toothpaste. The research was challenging and showed good scope in future dental research as well as economic to the World market for human use.
... It is 250-300 times sweeter than sucrose. Stevia has been recommended to people with diabetes and obesity, because of its beneficial properties for human health (Panpatil and Polasa 2008). ...
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The gluten-free cookies were produced by replacing rice flour (RF) and sucrose content with almond flour (AF) and stevia. Supplementation of AF caused to decrease the moisture content of the gluten-free cookies; while ash, total protein, total fat and total dietary fiber content increased. Regarding of total phenolics; extractable, hydrolyzable and bioaccessible fractions of gluten-free cookie samples that were produced with 30% of AF supplementation, were increased by 43.69-73% compared with the control group that was prepared with 100% RF (p ≤ 0.01). Gluten was detected in the cookies with neither RF nor AF. No cross-contamination was detected during the production, too. Quality characteristics of the gluten-free cookies reached the acceptable level while AF and stevia contents were increased. Protein and dietary fiber contents of the cookie with AF and stevia were enriched to 82 and 96%, while the total carbohydrate amount decreased 19% (p ≤ 0.01). The contents of TEACABTS and TEACFRAP of gluten-free cookies with AF and stevia were 5.72 ± 0.07 and 26.08 ± 0.49 µmol Trolox/g and higher than the control (100% RF + sucrose). It has found that physicochemical, nutrition and sensorial properties of gluten-free cookies that were produced with AF + stevia supplementation provided to produce more acceptable products. Graphic abstract:
... Stevia is also a source of protein, ash and crude which are essential for good health. 8 High-purity stevia extracts which contains 95% or more of steviol glycoside are approved by major regulatory agencies, including the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. 9 An acceptable daily intake (ADI) for steviol glycosides was established as 4 mg/kg bw/day. ...
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Introduction: Stevia is a safe, zero calorie, low glycaemic, natural sweetener and is suitable for pre-diabetic and diabetic patients. This study investigated the perceived effect of a stevia product on taste, satiety, appetite and carbohydrate craving, and its acceptance as a sugar substitute. Methodology: An exploratory study was conducted among the randomly selected group of 73 medical students and eight lecturers. The participants consumed commercially available stevia,replacing sugar, with their morning drink for a week. Data was collected by face to face interview using a standardized questionnaire pre and post stevia challenge. Results: The Majority (66.7%) of respondents from student group liked the taste of stevia,74.1% experienced after taste and 65.4% reported taste change of the drink with stevia. During the challenge week, 34.6% experienced early satiety, 8.6% had increased appetite and 16.0% noted carbohydrate craving. The majority of respondents were willing to continue with stevia for their health benefits and 95.1% wanted to recommend it for diabetic patients. In contrary, 66.7% of participants from lecturer group did not like the taste of stevia. Significant association was found between the amount of stevia used and liking the taste of stevia (p <0.05). Taste liking is positively (p <0.001)and perceived taste change of the drink is negatively correlated to its acceptance (p <0.05). Conclusion: The majority of respondents demonstrated good acceptance of commercially available stevia product. Liking sweet taste of stevia and perceived taste change of their drink determined the acceptance of stevia product among health educated individuals. Future research should focus on effectiveness of natural sweeteners in reducing calorie intake to fight against obesity to provide public health policy makers with more evidence based information on use of non-caloric sweeteners.
... Steviosides have been reported to be stable in wide pH range and temperature (Panpatil & Polasa, 2008). They remained stable without showing any degradation under pH ranges of 1-10 when dissolved for more than 2 h at 60°C, however very minimal loss of up to 5% has been reported when heated up to elevated temperature of 80°C with pH ranging from 2 to 10. ...
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In recent years, new avenue has been opened for extensive research and debate between Natural and artificial sweeteners. Stevia rebaudiana has emerged as a potent and remarkable substitute to artificial and calorie dense sweeteners. Stevia being natural and zero caloric is becoming a choice of many diet conscious people. The leaves and extract of Stevia plant are used to sweeten different food stuffs, desserts, beverages, etc. across globe especially in USA, Europe, China and Japan. Sweet components responsible for intense sweetness are the Steviosides having sweetness ranging from 250 to 400 times sweeter as compared to sucrose. Bioactive moieties in Stevia play vital role in health promotion aiding and boosting immune system to fight against cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and lower the occurrence of various other ailments diseases. This review article encompasses the biochemical, nutritional, therapeutic potential and end use applications of Stevia.
... All treatments were free from coliform either when fresh or during storage periods, that might be as a result to the good hygienic practice or because of the antibacterial activity of used probiotic starter. Beside of the positive effect on probiotic, stevia has medicinal properties as anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and antiviral as reported by Panpatil and Polasa (2008). ...
... Besides, Ghaheri et al. (2018) stated that this herb can be effective for treatment of erectile and intromission dysfunction in diabetic patients (Ghaheri et al., 2018). No reports on complications or side effects of S. rebaudiana have been published (Gupta, Purwar, Sundaram, & Rai, 2013;Panpatil & Polasa, 2008;Singh & Rao, 2005). Toxicity-related studies have revealed that the LD50 values of S. rebaudiana are very high and, therefore, the use of this plant is confident without any toxicity effects in laboratory animals (Mitsuhashi, 1976;Shivanna et al., 2013). ...
Article
This project aimed to examine Stevia rebaudiana aqueous extract protective effects on testicular ischaemia/reperfusion injury of rats. Forty rats were randomly divided into five groups: (1) sham group, (2) torsion/detorsion group, (3 and 4) low and high doses treatment groups received S. rebaudiana extract intraperitoneally 30 min before detorsion by 500 and 1,000 mg/kg respectively, and (5) healthy group received the extract by 1,000 mg/kg. In this study, left testes were rotated 2 hr, reperfusion period took long 5 hr, and then orchiectomy was performed. Histopathological and biochemical evaluations of testicular tissue samples were performed. Histopathologically, sham and healthy groups exhibited normal seminiferous tubules. Germinal cell necrosis, interstitial oedema, haemorrhage and congestion were seen in torsion/detorsion group. Testicular tissues of both treatment groups revealed lower histopathological alterations. Significant higher malondialdehyde level was observed in torsion/detorsion group than sham and healthy groups (p < .05). Compared with torsion/detorsion group, S. rebaudiana extract significantly reduced malondialdehyde level in treatment groups (p < .05). Torsion/detorsion group had significantly lower glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities than sham and healthy groups, and these parameters showed significant increase in treatment groups compared with torsion/detorsion group (p < .05). The results revealed S. rebaudiana has this potential to protect the testes from ischaemia/reperfusion injury.
... The use of stevia in baked products is suitable since it maintains its stability throughout the baking process and can be heated up to 200°C [34]. The non-nutritive high intensity sweeteners contribute to the sweet taste of the product, but the maintenance of texture, colour, and flavour is also crucial. ...
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Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni), a perennial shrub, is the sweetest plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. Stevia leaves are an excellent source of diterpene glycosides stevioside, rebaudioside A-F, dulcoside, and steviolbioside, which are responsible for sweetness and have been utilized commercially for sugar substitution in foods, beverages, and medicines. To the best of our knowledge, a large number of studies have been carried out on composition, health implications, and safety of steviol glycosides. However, commercial production of stevia-incorporated food products needs further research in order to meet the huge global demand. Stevia-incorporated products possess better sweetening potency and maximum consumer acceptability, when compared with other sugar substitutes. Hence, the current research attempts to review the health promoting effects of stevia with special emphasis on its application in the food system. The paper majorly features 1) the anti-hyperglycemic, anti-hypertensive, anti-caries, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer benefits of stevia, 2) value-added stevia-incorporated products, e.g. bakery, dairy, and beverages, 3) the effect of incorporation of stevia on physicochemical, rheological, and nutritional food properties, 4) the current status and regulatory perspective of utilizing stevia at national and international level. Due to legislative actions and growing consumer awareness, public interest in natural sweeteners has significantly increased. Since the use of artificial sweetener has recently been questioned, the data the present article provides will be useful for consumers and manufacturers that seek an alternative.
Article
Background Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni), a perennial shrub of the Compositae family, is cultivated in many regions across the world. It is famous for its sweetness, which is due to the presence of steviol glycosides, having 100–300 times the sweetness of sucrose. It has been used as a sweetener and a sugar substitute in the food and drug industry. Due to its rich nutritional and phytochemical profile, stevia also provides beneficial effects against a plethora of health conditions. Scope and approach The main aim of this review is to present an updated overview on stevia and isolated phytochemical, steviol glycosides, highlighting the health benefits, phytochemistry, industrial applications, and safety. Key findings and conclusions Various studies have highlighted promising health benefits of stevia against diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cancer, dental caries, oxidative stress and microbial infections. Besides its health benefits, industrial applications of stevia particularly as food and food ingredient, as sucrose replacer, as fertilizers and animal feed, and as solubilizing or foaming agents have been discussed. Novel approaches to improve the taste profile of steviol glycosides have also been highlighted. Moreover, a large body of evidence tend to show that stevia is safe for human consumption. However, its clinical efficacy and uses still remain controversial. Therefore, this study advocates for long-term clinical studies to provide in-depth insights into its safety, health benefits, and physiological mechanisms.
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In this paper, the extraction of steviol glycosides in Stevia rebaudiana, including stevioside, rebaudioside A, rebaudioside C, and dulcoside A by subcritical fluid extraction (SubFE) is investigated. A simple, efficient SubFE method is developed. The extraction conditions (extraction phase composition, extraction time, etc.) are optimized. An extraction efficiency of more than 88% is obtained using methanol as a modifier. Determination of stevioside in the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana is performed by using the SubFE method developed and capillary electrophoresis.
Article
Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) is a natural herb native of northeastern Paraguay, cultivated as a cash crop in number of countries. There appears to be no large-scale mechanized production of stevia due to difficulties in producing the crop through seeds. The stevia leaves in its powder form is green in color, 10 – 15 times sweeter than sucrose with after taste bitterness. However, there are no studies reported on the use of stevia in food product formulation and development and other related aspects. Considering its sweetness potentia-lities and possible health implications, an investigation was focused and the results indicated that gram of stevia sweetness was perceived to be equivalent to 20g of sucrose and produced more than 40 seconds of sweetness stimulus. Per cent nutrient composition of stevia was found to be impressive with 269 Kcal, 9.8 g of protein, ash at 10.5 g and crude fiber at 18.4 g. Mineral composition indicated that presence of fairly good amount of calcium (464 mg), iron (55.3 mg), sodium (190 mg) and potassium (1800 mg) with higher amount of oxalic acid (2295 mg). Functional properties of stevia studied revealed the suitability of substituting in different products. Varieties of stevia substituted products formulated and developed had different levels of acceptability. Similarly, their storage study for shelf life also varied. Glycemic Index of selected products found to be lower in diabetics as well as in normal individuals. Thus it can be concluded that the plant based stevia herb is a low calorie nutritious component has an immense potential in the main stream of food processing industries as a health and dietetic benefactor. Table 4: Functional properties of stevia leaf powder Properties Values Bulk density 0.443 gm/ml Water absorption capacity 4.7 ml/gm Fat absorption capacity 4.5 ml/gm Emulsification value 5ml / gm Swelling 5.01 gm / gm Solubility 0.365 g/gm pH 5.95 Table 5: Glycemic index of stevia bun in diabetic and normal subjects Test Products Normal subjects Diabetics Glucose 100 100 Control bun 60.4 72 Stevia bun 55.5 62.12
Article
We fed 0 (control), 0.1, 0.3 and 1% stevia extracts (95.2% purity) to 480 F344 rats for 22 months in the case of males and 24 months in the case of females. At 6 and 12 months, 10 animals of each sex from each group were sacrificed for clinical and pathological tests. The middle dose induced a slight growth retardation in both sexes, but at the high-dose the growth was reduced only transiently. General appearance and behavior were the same in all groups, including the control. Mortality at the end of the study in rats given stevia extracts was not significantly different from that in the controls. At 6 months, a variety of changes were found in the results of urinary, hematological and blood biochemical examinations and in organ weights, but there were no such differences at 12 months or at the end of the experiment. The incidence and severity of non-neoplastic and neoplastic changes were unrelated to the level of stevia extracts in the diet. The highest level of stevia extracts that causes no effects in rats was 550mg/kg, under the conditions of our experiments.
Article
Stevioside, a sweet principle of Stevia rebaudiana bertoni (Compositae), was mixed with the diet at concentrations of 0.15%, 0.75% and 3%. Male rats were given the stevioside diet for 60 days before and during mating. Female rats were given the stevioside diet for 14 days before mating and for 7 days during gestation. All pregnant females were sacrificed on the 20th day of gestation and their fetuses were examined for abnormalities.Males and females fed with 3% stevioside showed a slight retardation of body weight increase in the early period of administration. No abnormal signs were seen in mating performance or fertility in either group. No external, internal or skeletal anomalies attributable to stevioside were observed in the fetuses.It was concluded that dietary administration of stevioside to males and females before mating and during the early period of gestation had no adverse effect on fertility or on the development of fetuses.
Article
[3H] Stevioside was administered orally at a dose of 125mg/kg to Wistar rats, and its disposition and metabolism were studied. The level of radioactivity in the blood increased slowly to a maximum of 4.83μg/ml at 8 hours, exhibiting a biological half-life of 24 hours. At 1 hour, the highest concentration was observed in the small intestine, followed by the stomach and cecum in that order. At 4 hours, the concentration in the cecum was markedly higher than those of other tissues. Radioactivity remaining in the body at 48 hours was 30.7% of the dose. At 120 hours, the percentages of radioactivity excreted into the feces and expired air were 68.4% and 23.9%, respectively, while radioactivity excreted into the urine was only 2.3%. Radioactivity excreted into the bile at 72 hours was 40.9% of the original dose. From the results of biliary and fecal excretion, it was concluded that entero-hepatic circulation occurs in the body.TLC analysis of the intestinal contents, feces and bile showed that stevioside is decomposed by cecal flora to steviol and sugars, indicating that steviol and these sugars are absorbed from the cecum, distributed throughout the whole body, and excreted mainly into feces and expired air.
Article
São descritos e discutidos os sintomas de deficiência de N, P, K, Ca, Mg e B, e de toxicidade de B e Zn, em estévia cultivada em solução nutritiva. -N: desenvolvimento reduzido, folhas pequenas, pouca ramificação, e amarelecimento generalizado. -P: crescimento reduzido. -K: folhas encurvadas, precocemente, para baixo, aparentando menor teor de água; amarelecimento e necrose das folhas mais velhas e menor proporção de ramos. -Ca: pontuações escuras, clorose e necrose nas folhas, além de murchamento e colapso da porção superior do caule. -Mg: clorose internerval em algumas folhas mais velhas, em forma de "V" invertido. -B: raízes com diminuição do crescimento, engrossamento, ramificação curta e escurecimento geral; clorose, necrose e deformação das folhas; em folhas jovens, com sintomas, houve menor teor de clorofila; caule com rachaduras de coloração avermelhada, semelhante às nervuras salientes das folhas; menor proporção de ramos. Plantas com toxicidade de B exibiram manchas pardas nas bordas e ápices das folhas mais velhas, seguido de necrose. Plantas com excesso de Zn exibiram manchas necróticas, inicialmente nas folhas mais velhas, de tamanho e forma irregulares, levando ao murchamento e morte da planta.
Article
A 13-week subchronic oral toxicity study of stevioside was carried out in F344 rats at dose levels of 0, 0.31, 0.62, 1.25, 2.5 and 5% in diet, to determine appropriate dose levels for a 2-year carcinogenicity study. The rats were randomly allocated to 6 groups, each consisting of 10 males and 10 females. No animals died during the administration period. Between the control and treated groups, there were no differences in body weight gain during the administration period and in food consumption in the later period of the study. LDH on biochemical investigation and single cell necrosis in the liver revealed by histopathological examination were increased in all male treated groups. These were not considered specific changes, because of the lack of any clear dose response, the relatively low severity and the limitation to males. Other parameters that were found to demonstrate significant differences on hematological and biochemical investigations were of minor toxicological significance. From these results, a concentration of 5% in diet was concluded to be a suitable maximum tolerable dose of stevioside for a 2-year carcinogenicity study in rats.
Article
Stevioside and rebaudioside A, two intense natural sweeteners, that are constituents of the South American plant Stevia rebaudiana, were tested for cariogenicity in albino Sprague-Dawley rats. Sixty rat pups colonized with Streptococcus sobrinus were divided into four groups and fed stevioside, rebaudioside A or sucrose added to basal diet 2000 as follows: group 1, 30% sucrose; group 2, 0.5% stevioside; group 3, 0.5% rebaudioside A, and group 4, no addition. All four groups were sacrificed after 5 weeks. S. sobrinus counts were made and caries was evaluated according to Keyes' technique. There were no differences in food and water intake and weight gains between the four groups. There were significant differences in sulcal caries scores (p < 0.02) and S. sobrinus counts (p < 0.05) between group 1 and the other three groups. There were no significant differences between the stevioside, rebaudioside A and no-addition groups. It was concluded that neither stevioside nor rebaudioside A is cariogenic under the conditions of this study.