Stevia is a genus of the Asteraceae family. It represents 150 to 200 species of herbs and shrubs including some of them contain natural sweeteners.
There are more than 150 species of Stevia. Eupatoria and Stevia rebaudiana stevia are renowned for their sweetening power.
Use: The use of the plant as a sweetener originated in South America. For centuries, the Guaraní of the Paraguay and the Brazil used Stevia, mainly the species Stevia rebaudania what they called ' ka 'a he' e ' (sweet grass), as sugar and medicinal beverage. The leaves of this species have a sweetness of average 45 times higher than table sugar.
Extracts of the leaf with a sweetening power than sugar, this plant has attracted the attention of researchers. The plant has shown potential for treating obesity and hypertension. In addition, it has a negligible effect on the increase of glucose in the blood and even demonstrated a capacity to decrease glucose intolerance. The plant can therefore provide a sweetener compatible with plans for diabetic and hypoglycemic diets.
