Stevioside

Stevioside is derived from Stevia rebaudiana, a South American plant. The plant leaves have been used for centuries to sweeten bitter beverages and to make tea in the plant's native Paraguay. Since the 1970's, stevioside has been used as a sweetener in Japan.

300 times sweeter than sucrose.

There is only limited data currently available on the metabolism of stevioside. In the rat, some is excreted unchanged but most of it is degraded by intestinal bacteria and absorbed in the cecum. The metabolism of stevioside by humans has not yet been investigated.

Stevioside is extremely sweet and is synergistic with other sweeteners. It is readily soluble in water.

Stevioside exhibits a menthol-like bitter aftertaste which diminishes with increasing purity.

In Japan, stevioside is used alone or in combination with other sweeteners in beverages, tabletop sweeteners, chewing gums, pickles, dried seafoods, flavorings and confectioneries.

Insufficient testing has been conducted on stevioside to support a food additive petition for its use as a sweetener in the U.S. In 1999, the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives of the World Health Organization (JECFA) and the Scientific Committee for Food of the European Union reviewed stevioside and determined that on the basis of the scientific data currently available stevioside is not acceptable as a sweetener. However, JECFA again reviewed stevioside in 2004 and granted a temporary 2 mg/kg body weight Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for steviol glycosides. JECFA asked that additional information regarding the pharmacological effects of stevioside in humans be provided by 2007. In order for the temporary designation to be removed, further analytical data on steviol glycosides is also required. Stevioside is allowed in food for sweetening purposes only in Japan, South Korea and Brazil.

Stevioside may be used as a dietary supplement in the U.S. but no reference to sweetness can be made. It is not approved for use as a sweetener in the U.S.