Stevia Article Series

What Is the Difference Between Stevia, Rebiana, Stevia Extract, Steviol Glycoside, Stevioside and Rebaudioside A?

Thursday, 12 July 2012

Stevia is a fairly generic term that is generally used when describing a preparation derived from the leaves of the stevia plant (Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) Bertoni). This can take the form of fresh leaves, dried leaves (chopped or powdered) and processed leaf extract resulting in a powder or liquid.

Although sometimes used to describe stevia in general, Rebiana is actually the trade name for a stevia-based sweetener used in food products. It was developed in 2007 through a joint venture between Coca-Cola Co. and Cargill Inc., an agribusiness and commodity trading group, to 'market a new calorie-free natural sweetener aimed at health-conscious consumers'. Rebiana is a high-purity product which contains not less than 97% rebaudioside A (see definiton below).

Stevia extracts are the sweet active components that have been extracted from dried stevia leaves by a commercial process.

Steviol glycosides are the aforementioned sweet active components of the stevia leaf. There are at least nine currently identified steviol glycosides present in the leaves, however, only two have sufficiently sweet properties and are present in significant quantities to be viable for commercial use. These are stevioside and rebaudioside A.

Stevioside is the most prevalent glycoside present in the leaf of the Stevia rebaudiana plant and accounts for 9.1% of the leaf on a dry weight basis, however it has a slight bitter aftertaste. The chemical formula for Stevioside is C₃₈H₆₀O₁₈. Rebaudioside A accounts for 3.8% of the leaf on a dry weight basis, present to a lesser extent than stevioside it has a more pleasant aftertaste, although production costs are obviously greater. The chemical formula for Reb. A is C₄₄H₇₀O₂₃. Ongoing research and development by the major producers of the stevia plant strives to further improve the yield and quality of stevia seeds and seedlings.