The genus Stevia consists of 240 species of plants native to South America, Central America, and Mexico, with several species found as far north as Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Human use of the sweet species originated in South America. For centuries, the Guaraní tribes of Paraguay and Brazil used Stevia species, primarily S. rebaudiana which they called ka'a he'ê ("sweet herb"), as a sweetener in yerba mate and medicinal teas for treating heartburn and other ailments. The leaves of the stevia plant have 30–45 times the sweetness of sucrose (ordinary table sugar).
The Swiss botanist Moisés Santiago Bertoni first described the plant and the sweet taste in detail. But only limited research was conducted on the topic, until in 1931, two French chemists isolated the glycosides that give stevia its sweet taste. These compounds were named stevioside and rebaudioside, and are 250–300 times sweeter than sucrose, heat stable, pH stable, and non-fermentable.
The exact structure of the aglycone and the glycoside were published in 1955.
In the early 1970s, Japan began cultivating stevia as an alternative to artificial sweeteners such as cyclamate and saccharin, which are suspected carcinogens. The plant's leaves, the aqueous extract of the leaves, and purified steviosides are used as sweeteners. Since the Japanese firm Morita Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. produced the first commercial stevia sweetener in Japan in 1971, the Japanese have been using stevia in food products, soft drinks (including Coca Cola), and for table use. Japan currently consumes more stevia than any other country, with stevia accounting for 40% of the sweetener market.
Today, stevia is cultivated and used in food elsewhere in east Asia, including in China (since 1984), Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia. It can also be found in Saint Kitts and Nevis, in parts of South America (Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay, and Uruguay) and in Israel. China is the world's largest exporter of stevioside.
Stevia species are found in the wild in semi-arid habitats ranging from grassland to mountain terrain. Stevia does produce seeds, but only a small percentage of them germinate. Planting cloned stevia is a more effective method of reproduction.
The Swiss botanist Moisés Santiago Bertoni first described the plant and the sweet taste in detail. But only limited research was conducted on the topic, until in 1931, two French chemists isolated the glycosides that give stevia its sweet taste. These compounds were named stevioside and rebaudioside, and are 250–300 times sweeter than sucrose, heat stable, pH stable, and non-fermentable.
The exact structure of the aglycone and the glycoside were published in 1955.
In the early 1970s, Japan began cultivating stevia as an alternative to artificial sweeteners such as cyclamate and saccharin, which are suspected carcinogens. The plant's leaves, the aqueous extract of the leaves, and purified steviosides are used as sweeteners. Since the Japanese firm Morita Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. produced the first commercial stevia sweetener in Japan in 1971, the Japanese have been using stevia in food products, soft drinks (including Coca Cola), and for table use. Japan currently consumes more stevia than any other country, with stevia accounting for 40% of the sweetener market.
Today, stevia is cultivated and used in food elsewhere in east Asia, including in China (since 1984), Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia. It can also be found in Saint Kitts and Nevis, in parts of South America (Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay, and Uruguay) and in Israel. China is the world's largest exporter of stevioside.
Stevia species are found in the wild in semi-arid habitats ranging from grassland to mountain terrain. Stevia does produce seeds, but only a small percentage of them germinate. Planting cloned stevia is a more effective method of reproduction.
Availability
Stevia has been grown on an experimental basis in Ontario, Canada since 1987 for the purpose of determining the feasibility of growing the crop commercially. In the United States, it is legal to import, grow, sell, and consume stevia products if contained within or labeled for use as a dietary supplement, but not as a food additive. Stevia has also been approved as a dietary supplement in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Since 2008 it is approved as a sweetener for food and beverages in Australia and New Zealand. In Japan and South American countries, stevia may also be used as a food additive. Stevia is currently banned for use in food in the European Union. It is also banned in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Rebiana is the trade name for a patent-pending, calorie-free, food and beverage sweetener derived from stevia and developed jointly by The Coca-Cola Company and Cargill. In May 2007, Coca-Cola announced plans to obtain approval for its use as a food additive within the United States by 2009. Coca-Cola has also announced plans to market rebiana-sweetened products in 12 countries that allow stevia's use as a food additive. The two companies are conducting their own studies in an effort to gain regulatory approval in the United States and the European Union. In May 2008, Cargill announced the availability of Truvia, a consumer brand of Rebiana. PepsiCo and the Whole Earth Sweetener Company also announced PureVia, their brand of stevia-based sweetener.
The U.S. ingredient firm Blue California claims to have developed an economical industrial production process for isolating Rebaudioside A, a sweet compound derived from stevia, using a "more economical and proprietary process". The company expects to go into industrial scale production in 2008. The isolation process for Rebaudioside A results in a product that delivers the desired sweetness without a bitter aftertaste.
The U.S. ingredient firm Blue California claims to have developed an economical industrial production process for isolating Rebaudioside A, a sweet compound derived from stevia, using a "more economical and proprietary process". The company expects to go into industrial scale production in 2008. The isolation process for Rebaudioside A results in a product that delivers the desired sweetness without a bitter aftertaste.
Names in other countries
Both the sweetener and the stevia plant Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni (also known as Eupatorium rebaudianum Bertoni) are known simply as "stevia" (pronounced /ˈstɛviə/) in English-speaking countries as well as in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Israel, Norway and Sweden — although some of these countries also use other terms as shown below. Similar pronunciations occur in Japan (sutebia or ステビア in katakana), and in Thailand (satiwia). In some countries (India, for example) the name translates literally as "sweet leaf." Below are some names for the stevia plant in various regions of the world:
- Afrikaans-speaking countries: heuningblaar (honey leaf)
- China: 甜菊 (tian jü – sweet chrysanthemum), 甜菊叶 (tian jü ye – stevia leaf)
- Dutch-speaking countries: honingkruid
- English-speaking countries: candy leaf, sugar leaf, sweetleaf (USA), sweet honey leaf (Australia), sweet herb of Paraguay
- German speaking countries, also Switzerland: Süßkraut, Süßblatt, Honigkraut
- Hungary: jázmin pakóca
- India: madhu parani (Marathi), gurmaar (Punjabi), madhu patra (Sanskrit), seeni tulsi (Tamil), madhu patri (Telugu)
- Israel: סטיביה (sṭīviyyāh in Hebrew)
- Japan: アマハステビア (amaha sutebia)
- Portuguese-speaking countries: capim doce (sweet grass), erva doce (sweet herb, also a Portuguese term for fennel), estévia (Brazil), folhas da stévia
- Spanish-speaking countries: hierba / yerba dulce, estevia, ka´a he´ê (Guaraníes, Natives of Paraguay)
- Sweden: sötflockel
- Thailand: satiwia, หญ้าหวาน (ya wan, or sweet grass in Bangkok)
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