Stevia
Stevia is a
genus of about 240
species of
herbs and
shrubs in the sunflower family (
Asteraceae), native to
subtropical and
tropical regions from western
North America to
South America. The species
Stevia rebaudiana, commonly known as
sweetleaf,
sweet leaf,
sugarleaf, or simply
stevia, is widely grown for its sweet leaves. As a sweetener and
sugar substitute, stevia's taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of
sugar, although some of its extracts may have a bitter or
licorice-like
aftertaste at high concentrations.
With its
steviol glycoside extracts having up to 300 times the
sweetness of sugar, stevia has garnered attention with the rise in demand for
low-carbohydrate, low-sugar food alternatives. Because stevia has a negligible effect on
blood glucose, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to people on
carbohydrate-controlled diets.
The availability of stevia varies from country to country. In a few countries, it has been available as a sweetener for decades or centuries; for example, stevia is widely used as a sweetener in
Japan where it has been available for decades. In some countries health concerns and
political controversies have limited its availability; for example, the United States banned stevia in the early 1990s unless labeled as a
dietary supplement,
[1][2] but in 2008 approved
rebaudioside A extract as a food additive. Over the years, the number of countries in which stevia is available as a sweetener has been increasing.
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