Stevia--Natural Zero-calorie Healthy Sugar Source

In recent years, the number of obese people, high-fat people and diabetic patients has been increasing around the world. One of the main causes is the intake of too much sugar. As the number of obese and diabetic patients continues to increase around the world, consumers' demand for sugar reduction and sugar-free is growing, and there is broad room for the growth of sweeteners. Stevia, as a prominent representative of "0 calories" sweeteners, has a strong growth trend.

Stevia, also known as steviol glycosides, is a type of glycoside extracted from the leaves of the Asteraceae plant Stevia rebaudiana. Stevia is a small shrub of the Asteraceae family native to northeastern Paraguay, South America. In the 1970s, Japan began to cultivate stevia. The aqueous extract of the dried stevia leaves was purified to obtain steviol glycosides, which were developed as sweeteners. Stevia began to gain traction in the U.S. natural foods and health food industries in the mid-1980s. China began to introduce and cultivate stevia from Japan in 1977, and now China has become one of the world's largest production and primary processing bases for this raw material.

At present, the world is paying more and more attention to the issue of "sugar reduction", and many countries and regions have elevated "sugar reduction" to the level of national mandatory control. Western countries such as the United States, Mexico, and France have adopted consumption taxes ("sugar taxes") on sugary drinks to strictly limit residents' sugar intake. China has also issued a series of policies such as the National Nutrition Plan (2017-2030). A series of policies clearly point out that "sugar reduction" is an important content. More and more companies are beginning to work in the sugar-free field, using sweeteners to replace the addition of sugar to meet the market demand of "reducing sugar without reducing sweetness".

Sweeteners, also called "sugar substitutes", refer to food additives that can give sweetness to food. In the sweetener family, natural sugar substitute steviol glycosides have the characteristics of high sweetness, low heat energy, and no side effects on the human body. They have been widely used in food, beverages and medicines, and have become one of the most popular sugar substitutes at the moment. Because of its high sweetness, zero calories, and natural origin, steviol glycosides enjoy the reputation of "the world's third sugar source" after sucrose and beet sugar.

The rising star in the era of sugar reduction.

In addition to replacing sugar, stevia glycosides also have a variety of effects, such as assisting in lowering blood sugar, helping weight loss, preventing tooth decay, antioxidant, anti-tumor and promoting mineral absorption, etc., which makes it increasingly popular among many consumers. Currently, steviol glycosides are used in food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and other fields.

In addition to being used to extract steviol glycosides, stevia is also a good feed ingredient. Stevia leaf residue contains a variety of trace elements, such as amino acids, crude protein, crude fiber, crude fat and vitamins, etc., and has comprehensive nutritional content. It is further processed into feed and fed to livestock. It can be used to treat diseases such as loss of appetite, fatigue, slow growth and poor respiratory tract in livestock and poultry. It can also improve the quality of milk and meat. Stevia as a feed additive can also increase the appetite of livestock, racehorses and pets, treat their chronic diseases, and promote the growth of stunted piglets and broiler chickens. In addition, stevia residue also contains a certain amount of minerals such as calcium and magnesium, so it can also be used as an organic fertilizer to improve the soil and help seedlings grow and develop rapidly.

Steviol glycosides, as a zero-calorie natural sweetener, will not cause blood sugar to rise, so it has become one of the best sugar substitutes for people with diabetes and obesity. In addition, steviol glycosides have the advantages of being easily soluble in water and having good stability, making them one of the most popular sweeteners in the world. Steviol glycosides are easily soluble in water and alcohol, and taste better when mixed with sucrose, fructose, isomerized sugar, etc. Under normal food and beverage processing conditions, the properties of steviol glycosides are quite stable, which is beneficial to reducing viscosity, inhibiting bacterial growth, and extending product shelf life, so it can be used in almost all foods and beverages.