Stevioside is a naturally occurring sweetener that can be widely applied in food, drinks, medicine and consumer chemicals. It is a good dietary supplement, being non-calorific, thermally stable and non-toxic. It is also non-fermentable and exhibits anti-carcinogenic, antioxidant and anti-hyperglycemic properties. With its sugar-like taste profile, it is suitable for diabetics, phenylketonuria patients and the obese. As stevioside tastes about 300 times sweeter than 0.4% sucrose solution, it offers a rare combination of health and taste benefits. The extraction of stevioside is therefore an area of active research for the food industry as well as academic food scientists.
Stevioside is produced from the leaves of the Stevia plant. Current sweetener extraction techniques involve solvent extraction (methanol and ethanol), ion exchange, and other techniques. However, solvent extraction is a process that may not be suitable for ingredients which are designed for subsequent human consumption, whilst ion exchange is not economical. Membrane-based processes can offer an attractive alternative. Stevioside: Technology, Applications and Health will provide a detailed understanding of design and modeling characteristics at various levels of processing using membranes.
Although its accessibility varies from country to country, the number of countries in which stevioside is available as a sweetener has gradually been increasing. In 2011, stevioside was approved for use in the EU and stevioside is therefore on the cusp of being more widely-used than ever before. Stevioside: Technology, Applications and Health offers an in-depth look at perhaps the major ‘sugar alternative of the future’; an overview that is up-to-date and in line with the latest global legislation regarding its suitability for consumption and its scope for application.
