Stevioside(CNS: 19.008;INS: 960), also known as Stevia glycoside, is a glycoside extracted from the leaves of Stevia Rebaudia(Stevia in China), a compositae plant. Stevia is native to Paraguay and Brazil, and is now cultivated in China, Singapore, Malaysia and other countries. Its sweet ingredient is composed of stevia glycoside and stevia glycoside A, B, C, D and E.
Stevia is a natural sweetener with high sweetness and low calorific value. Its sweetness is 200-300 times of sucrose's, and its calorific value is only 1/300 of sucrose's. Its appearance is white crystalline powder. Proved by a large number of experiments, stevia is safe to intake having no toxic side effects neither carcinogens. Regular consumption can prevent hypertension, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, dental caries and other diseases, and it is an ideal sweetener that replaces sucrose.
Stevioside can be widely used in many areas and compared with sucrose, using stevioside can save cost by 60%. Stevioside is a natural sweetener with low calorific value that has been discovered in the world and approved by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Light Industry in China. Besides sugar cane and beet sugar, it is the third natural sucrose substitute with development value and health promotion, which is internationally praised as "the third source of sugar in the world".
