Category: sweetener
Aliases: Stevia, Stevioside, Rebaudioside A, Reb A, E960, Steviol glycoside, Stevia extract, Rebaudioside M, Steviol equivalents
High-potency natural-source sweeteners isolated from Stevia rebaudiana leaf, comprising ent-kaurene diterpene glycosides (stevioside, rebaudiosides A-M, dulcosides) sharing the steviol aglycone backbone. They are roughly 200-300x sweeter than sucrose and activate the sweet T1R2/T1R3 receptor; rebaudiosides are perceived as cleaner-tasting than stevioside, which carries more bitter/licorice off-notes. The intact glycosides resist human gastric and small-intestinal hydrolysis and pass essentially unabsorbed to the colon, where gut microbiota cleave the glucose moieties to liberate steviol. Steviol is absorbed, conjugated in the liver to steviol glucuronide via UDP-glucuronosyltransferases, and excreted (predominantly renally in humans, biliary in rats). They are non-caloric and non-glycemic, raising neither blood [[glucose]] nor [[insulin]], and are non-cariogenic.