Stevia rebaudiana
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Stevia rebaudiana is a plant species in the genus Stevia of the family Asteraceae. It is commonly known as candyleaf, sweetleaf or sugarleaf.<ref>Template:PLANTS</ref><ref name="mbg">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
It is a small seasonal plant which grows to a height of Template:Convert.<ref name=mbg/> It has elongated leaves that grow along the stems and are lined up against each other. The flowers are typically trimmed to improve the taste of the leaves.<ref name="eb">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Stevia is a tender perennial native to parts of Brazil and Paraguay having humid, wet environments.<ref name=mbg/><ref name=eb/>
Stevia is widely grown for its leaves, from which extracts can be manufactured as sweetener products known generically as stevia and sold under various trade names.<ref name="bi14">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web
}}</ref> The chemical compounds that produce its sweetness are various steviol glycosides (mainly stevioside and rebaudioside), which have 200–300 times the sweetness of sugar.<ref name=mbg/><ref name="ijb.v4n1p146">Template:Cite journal</ref> Stevia leaves contain 9.1% stevioside and 3.8% rebaudioside A.<ref name="pmid19961353">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Description
Stevia rebaudiana is a perennial herb growing up to Template:Convert tall.<ref name="mbg" /> The flowers are white with light purple accents and no fragrance. Plants produce fruit which is ribbed spindle-shaped. Stevia prefers sandy-like soil.<ref name=mbg/>
Chemistry
In 1931, chemists M. Bridel and R. Lavielle isolated the glycosides stevioside and rebaudioside that give the leaves their sweet taste.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The exact structures of the aglycone steviol and its glycoside were published in 1955.
Cultivation
Beginning in the 1960s,<ref name=bi14/> commercial cultivation had spread to Japan, Southeast Asia and the US, but also in mildly tropical climates in hilly areas of Nepal or India (Assam region). The plant prefers warm, moist and sunny conditions.<ref name=mbg/> The plant cannot survive frost during the winter and therefore greenhouses are used to grow stevia in Europe.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Stevia rebaudiana is found in the wild in semiarid habitats ranging from grassland to mountain terrain, do produce seeds, but only a small percentage of the seeds germinate.
Stevia rebaudiana has been grown on an experimental basis in Ontario, Canada, since 1987 to determine the feasibility of commercial cultivation.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Duke University researchers developed a strategic plan to assist farmers and exporters in Paraguay to compete in the global market for stevia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Uses
Stevia rebaudiana has been used over centuries by the Guaraní people of Brazil and Paraguay, who called it ka'a he'ẽ ("sweet herb"), to sweeten the local yerba mate tea, as medicine, and as a "sweet treat".<ref name="Misra-2011">Template:Cite journal</ref>
In 1899, botanist Moisés Santiago Bertoni first described the plant as growing in eastern Paraguay, and observed its sweet taste.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
When extracts of its leaves are processed into a powder, stevia is used as a sugar substitute in most of the developed world.<ref name="pmid19961353" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Based on the JECFA (Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives) declaration, safe consumption of steviol glycosides for humans is determined to be 4 mg/kg body weight per day.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was also agreed by the European Commission in 2011 for use in food in European countries.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Steviol glycosides have also been accepted in the US as generally recognized as safe (GRAS).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Stevia leaf and raw extracts are not treated as GRAS and their import into the US is not allowed for usage as sweeteners.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
References
External links
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