The Science of All-Natural Stevia Sweetener
Posted on January 17, 2008 under General| Discussion
Many people are just starting to hear about stevia, but it has been of interest to those in the west since the nineteenth century. The plant first caught the interest of people in Brazil who heard of a plant in South America with leaves so sweet that they would sweeten a whole gourd full of bitter tea with just one leaf. This interest in the plant lead a botanist from Paraguay to study the plant, and it was his research that is now some of the first recorded findings about stevia. Since the botanist researched the plant, stevia has been found to have more than 100 different phytochemcials.
Stevia: The Chemical Factors
In 1931, eight plant chemicals were discovered in stevia that were found to be responsible for the sweetness in the naturally occurring plant. The chemicals were called glycosides and the sweetest of them is called stevioside and is about 300 times sweeter than sugar! Stevioside makes up anywhere from 6-18% of the stevia leaf and is the most commonly occurring glycoside found in the leaf of the plant. The other sweet ingredients of the plant include steviolbioside, rebausiosides A-E, and dulcoside A.
In addition to the glycosides there are many other chemicals in stevia including: apigenin, austroinulin, avicularin, beta-sitosterol, caffeic acid, campesterol, caryophyllene, centaureidin, chlorogenic acid, chlorophyll, cosmosin, cynaroside, daucosterol, diterpene glycosides, dulcosides A-B, foeniculin, formic acid, gibberellic acid, gibberellin, indole-3-acetonitrile, isoquercitrin, isosteviol, jhanol, kaempferol, kaurene, lupeol, luteolin, polystachoside, quercetin, quercitrin, rebaudioside A-F, scopoletin, sterebin A-H, steviol, steviolbioside, steviolmonoside, stevioside, stevioside a-3, stigmasterol, umbelliferone, and xanthophylls.
Stevia Research
Research on stevia has been quite extensive, due in large part to the fact that it is a natural sweetener, does not produce any calories, and has proved to be neither dangerous nor toxic in animals such as rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, and pigs. In addition, it does not cause cellular changes and also does not have any impact on fertility.
In 1991 a Brazilian scientist found that stevia worked to lower the systemic blood pressure in rats and then the same thing was found in 2000 when a double blind placebo controlled study was done on 106 men and women with hypertension. There have been many different studies on stevia and all of its chemical ingredients and many believe that it could prove useful in the use of treating heart conditions and even epidemic level chronic illnesses such as type 2 diabetes. Different research efforts have shown that the plant and its extracts are antimicrobial, antibacterial, antiviral, and even have anti yeast activity.
Many were excited when research showed that a water extract of stevia could help to prevent dental cavities because it prohibits the growth of bacteria that stimulates the growth of plaque. Yet another research program showed that an extract of stevia could help with different skin diseases such as heat rash, acne, and even pruritis.
In short, exhaustive research has shown that stevia or elements of it could prove useful in many different setting and circumstances. The plant and its extracts hold a great deal of promise for the health care industry as well as the food and beverage industry as it is a very pure and non-toxic natural sweetener that could potentially replace the artificial, chemical sweeteners on the market today.
The research efforts that are underway and have been completed in the past are by no means the end of the road. Continued research is surely going to have even more interesting findings and positive impacts on countless people. While the interest in stevia dates back to the 19th century what this plant has in store for human kind is just being found out and it promises to unlock many more secrets and provide us with healthy sweetener options never before available.
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