Stevioside is a white crystalline powder that is 200-400 times sweeter than sucrose and is used as a low calorie sweetener in food and beverages. It is often used in cakes, cookies, pies, bakery products, and dietary supplements. Though it’s considered safe, some are convinced it has potentially dangerous health effects.
What Is Stevioside?
Stevioside 95%-98% is a zero calorie, low-carb, sugar free, 100% natural sweetener. It has a total content of approximately 95% and a reb-A content of 20%, and it has 270 times the sweetness of sugar. It is often used in tea, soft drinks, baked goods, jams and jellies, candies, yogurts, pastries, chewing gum, etc.
Possible Side Effects of Stevioside
Although Stevioside generally regarded as a very safe and effective supplement, there can be some minor side effects. The side effects may:
- high doses of stevia may lead to serious side effects. A study showed that high doses of stevia led to a decrease in weight of testis, seminal vesicle and cauda epididymidis. Consequently, intake of high dosages of stevia may lead to the side effect of male infertility! In addition, a few studies showed that stevioside (from stevia leaves) is a vasodilator. It has insulinotropic, glucagonostatic, anti-hyperglycemic and blood pressure-lowering effects in type 2 diabetic animal models.
GRAS Affirmation: Yes
Generally recognized as safe (GRAS) is an American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designation that a chemical or substance added to food is considered safe by experts, and so is exempted from the usual Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) food additive tolerance requirements. Stevioside is considered safe.
Suggested Dosage
NA.
Special Populations Precaution
There is a lot of concern about diet and nutrition for these population, like Newborns, children, pregnant, sensitive to Stevioside populations. Better consult to your doctor if you would like to intake Stevioside.
Related Research
1. Stevioside and related compounds – molecules of pharmaceutical promise: a critical overview. [Arch Pharm (Weinheim). 2011 Jan] Author: Brahmachari G, Mandal LC, Roy R, Mondal S, Brahmachari AK.
2. Long-term feeding effects of stevioside sweetener on some toxicological parameters of growing male rats. [J Appl Toxicol. 2011 Jul] Author: Awney HA, Massoud MI, El-Maghrabi S.
3. Daily intake assessment of saccharin, stevioside, D-sorbitol and aspartame from various processed foods in Korea. [Food Addit Contam. 2005 Nov] Author: Chung MS, Suh HJ, Yoo W, Choi SH, Cho YJ, Cho YH, Kim CJ.