Stevia rebaudiana

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE ON FOOD, Opinion on Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni plants and leaves, SCF/NF/STE/3, Bmssels, European Commission, 1999. 

Chen T-H, Chen S-C, Chan P, Chn Y-L, Yang H-Y, Cheng J-T. (2005) Mechanism of the hypoglycemic effect of stevioside, a glycoside of Stevia rebaudiana. Planta Me die a 71 108-113. 

Ent-kaurene Diterpene Glycosides from the Leaves of Stevia rebaudiana... 

The plant Stevia rebaudiana bertoni has been studied in depth because it was discovered that this plant is the source of six sweet-tasting diterpene glycosides. They are stevioside, rebaudiosides A, C, D, E and dulcoside A. (Table 1). These sweet diterpene glycosides, as well as a complex mixture of organic compounds of which more than a hundred compounds have been identified, are found mainly in the leaves of the plant. The leaves contain a complex mixture of labdane diterpenes, triterpenes, stigmasterol, tannins and volatile oils. There is an abundance of reviews and patents relating to these sweet diterpene glycosides. 

Bridel M, Lavieille R, Le Principe asaveur sucree du Kha-he-e(Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni) Proprietes An steylosiAe, Journalde Pharmacie etde Chimie, 14 99—113 154-163, (1931a, b, c, d and e). 

Kohda H, Kasai R, Yamasaki K, Murakami K, Tanaka O, New Sweet diterpene glycosides from stevia rebaudiana, Phytochemistry 15 981—983, 1976. 

Brandle J, Stevia Rebaudiana with alteredsteviolglycoside composition, US Patent No. 6,255,557, 2001. 

The leaves of Stevia rebaudiana (Compositae) are a source of several sweet glycosides of steviol (26) (Fig. 15) [1, 61]. The major glycoside, stevioside (27), is used in oriental countries as a food sweetener and the second major glycoside named rebaudioside (28), which is sweeter and more delicious than stevioside, is utilized in beverages. 

Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) Hemsl. Tian Jiu (Stevia) (stem, leaf) Stevioside, steviolbioside, rebaudiosides, austroinulin.57 Treat diabetes, tonic, lower blood pressure. 

Melasma arvense, Plantago asiatica, P. depressa, P. exaltata, P. loureiri, P. major, Veronica anagallis-aquatica, Vitex trifolia, V rotundifolia, V nequndo Cassia , C. obtusifolia, C. tora Dictamnus albus, D. dasycarpus Physalis alkekengi Stevia rebaudiana... 

Cordyceps sinensis, Cucurbita moschata, C. pepo, Cucumis melo, Cypripedium guttatum, C. macranthum, C. pubescens, C. sativus, Fibraurea recisa, Luffa aegyptiaca, L. cylindrica, L. faetida, L. petola, Momordica charantia Stevia rebaudiana Stevia rebaudiana Menyanthes trifoliata... 

Stevia Stevia rebaudiana) Uses Natural sweetener, hypoglycemic and hypotensive properties Actions Multiple chemical components sweetness d/t glycoside, stevioside hypotensive effect may be d/t diuretic action or vasodilation action Available forms Liq extract, powder, caps Notes/SE HA, dizziness, bloating Interactions T Hypotensive effects W/ antihypertensives esp CCB, diuretics EMS Monitor BP does not encourage dental caries may -1-glucose St. John s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) Uses Mild-mod depression, anxiety, anti-inflammatory, immune stimulant/anti-HIV/antiviral, gastritis, insomnia, vitiligo Action MAOI in vitro, not in vivo bacteriostatic bactericidal, T capillary blood flow, uterotonic activity in animals Efficacy Variable benefit w/ mild-mod depression in several trials, but not always seen in clinical practice Available forms Teas, tabs, caps, tine, oil ext for topical use Dose 2-4 g of herb or 0.2-1 mg of total hypericin (standardized extract) daily Notes/SE Photosensitivity (use sunscreen) rash, dizziness, dry mouth, GI distress Interactions Enhance MAOI activity, EtOH, narcotics, sympathomimetics EMS T Risk of photosensitivity Rxns t effects of opioids and sympathomimetics... 

Fig. 2 Chemical structures of glycyrrhizin and of the sweet glycosides of Stevia rebaudiana Bert and relative sweetness of stevia glycosides compared to sucrose (4%) ...

Stevia sweeteners are extracted from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni (Compositae), an herb native to Paraguay but cultivated in Southeast Asia, Japan, Paraguay, Brazil, Israel, and the United States. The sweet constituents of stevia include eight diterpene glycosides stevioside, ste-violbioside, rebaudiosides A, B, C, D, E, and dulcoside A, which collectively are 100-300 times... 

S Shu. A study on good variety selection in Stevia rebaudiana. Scient Agric Sinica 28(2) 37— 42, 1995. 

MS Ahmed, RH Dobberstein. Stevia rebaudiana. II. High-performance liquid chromatographic separation and quantitation of stevioside, rebaudioside A and rebaudioside C. J Chromatogr 236(2) 523-526, 1982. 

M Alvarez, IT Kusumoto. Quantitative analysis of glycosidic sweeteners from Stevia rebaudiana and its hydrolysis products by high performance liquid chromatography. Arq Biol Tecnol 30(2) 337-348, 1987. 

Stevioside is used as a sweetener in Far Eastern markets and in some South American countries. It is extracted from the leaves of Stevia Rebaudiana... 

In the European Union there have been several petitions to approve stevia and its products. In 2000, the EU Commission refused marketing authorisation for Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni plants and dried leaves as a novel food or novel food ingredient (Official Journal of the European Communities, 2000). In October 2003, the SCF rejected a request to re-examine the restrictions on the uses of extracts of stevia. Its comment, after throroughly examining the evidence, was that the committee has serious doubts about the safety of stevioside and does not consider it acceptable for use in food (European Parliament, 2003). 

Figure 4. Metabolites from feeds of steviol (ent-13-hydroxykaurenoic acid) and ent-kaurenoic acid to the GA mutant Bl-41a of G. fujikuroi. Steviol is found as a glucoside in the higher plant Stevia rebaudiana it is not found in the fungus.

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