Product Name: Stevioside

Synonyms: (4alpha)-13-Hydroxykaur-16-en-18-oic acid

Molecular Formula:  C₂₀H₃₀O₃

Molecular Weight:  318.45

CAS Number:  471-80-7

The steviosides do not retain all of the health benefits of the unrefined Stevia products. Stevioside is heat stable to 392º Fahrenheit. These refined Stevia extracts are safe and preferable to artificial sweeteners or sugar, so they are commercially used in many industries as food, beverage, pharmaceuticals, etc. For more than 20 years, Stevioside has been approved and widely used in Japan and South Korea. It is also approved and used in Brazil, and in some ten countries altogether. We know of applications as a table top sweetener, in soft drinks, baked goods, pickles, fruit juices, tobacco products, confectionery uses, jams and jellies, candies, yogurts, pastries, chewing gum, sherberts, etc.  Stevioside is of special interest to diabetics, hyperglycemics and the diet conscious.

The component of stevia extract that gives it its sweetness is a mixture of various steviol glycosides. The components of sweetness in stevia leaves are stevioside, rebaudioside A, C, D, E and dulcoside A. 

Rebaudioside C, D, E and dulcoside A are small in quantity. The principal components are stevioside and  rebaudioside-A. But the quality of stevioside and rebaudioside-A is better than those of other components, which are commercially extracted and used in various applications.

The steviol glycosides present in stevia extract are referred to as "steviosides" or  "stevia extract". Among these "steviosides", the most common is Stevioside followed by Rebaudioside-A. The Stevioside has a slight and pleasant herbal taste and the Rebaudioside-A has no herbal taste.

Although Rebaudioside C and dulcoside A are small in quantity in stevia extract, they are the major components giving bitter aftertaste.

80% – 95% Sweet Glycosides - The processed form of stevia leaves to concentrate on the sweet glycosides by removing unwanted plant matter. A white or off white fine powder. This powder is 200 – 300 times sweeter than cane sugar. Quality of the powder depends on purity of the glycosides (i.e. 80% – 95% pure) and the ratio of Rebaudioside-A over Stevioside. The higher the ratio, the better the product taste. Commonly referred to as "Stevioside". 

Due to the great strength of stevia extracts, it is common to add a filler to "tone" down the strength so that the stevia extract is easier to use and more palatable. These fillers are usually some form of non-sweet food additive that has little to non nutritive value such as erythritol.

High purity Rebaudioside-A is crystallized selectively from the stevia extract using high level of refining technology. Quality of rebaudioside-A depends on its purity (i.e. 40% – 98% pure Rebaudioside-A) and the ratio of Rebaudioside A over Stevioside. The higher the ratio, the better the product taste. Commonly referred to as "rebaudioside-A". 

- Stevia Extract without bitter aftertaste

Normal stevia extract contains 5% to 7% rebaudioside C and dulcoside A which are the bitter aftertaste components. With special membrane filtration technology, these bitter aftertaste components can be reduced to as low as 0.2%, and the product taste will be greatly improved, bitter aftertaste almost disappears.

List  of  Stevia Pure Extract Products