Stevioside

Features of Stevioside：

1. High sweetness without sugar rise

   Stevioside is a new type of natural sweetener extracted from the herb Stevia rebaudiana of the Asteraceae family. It is 250~450 times sweeter than sucrose and is not absorbed and does not produce heat after consumption.

2. Easily soluble in water, good stability
   Stevioside is easily soluble in water and alcohol and tastes better when mixed with sucrose, fructose, isomerized sugar, etc. Under normal food and beverage processing conditions, stevioside is quite stable, which helps to reduce viscosity, inhibit bacterial growth, and prolong product shelf life, so it can be used in almost all food and beverage products.

3. Slightly bitter taste

   Stevioside has a slightly astringent taste, and REB A, which is the highest content in stevioside, has a distinct bitter taste and a certain degree of astringency and menthol. 
   

What is the function of Stevioside? 

1. Stabilizer

   It is found that Stevioside has significant surface activity and is a new type of natural surfactant. When using with soy protein, it can significantly improve the interfacial activity of the protein and the stability of emulsion and foam. 

2. Antibacterial agent

   Stevioside has antimicrobial properties, which can inhibit the growth of many kinds of bacteria and contribute to prolonging the shelf life of food. It can also act as a protective agent to protect potassium sorbate, a high-safety commonly used preservative, from being destroyed in acidic water systems, thus improving the effect of bacterial inhibition. Stevioside also has the effect of inhibiting non-enzymatic browning reaction, which will not cause fermentation rancidity. 

3. Flavoring agent 

   Stevioside can be used in fruit wine to improve its flavor, make it sweet and sour, and change the viscous feeling of fruit wine. When used in sea buckthorn, grapes, and other fruit wines, the taste is better than cane sugar; when added to white wine, it can eliminate the spicy taste and improve the quality of products; when used in beer, it can improve the flavor of the products and also play a role in increasing the foam, making the beer foam rich, white and long-lasting; when added to pickled products, stevioside can also inhibit the high saltiness and shorten the pickling time.