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Stevia
Stevia rebaudiana flowers.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Asterids
Order:
Asterales
Family:
Asteraceae
Tribe:
Eupatorieae
Genus:
Stevia

Species

About 240 species, including:
Stevia eupatoria
Stevia ovata
Stevia plummerae
Stevia rebaudiana
Stevia salicifolia
Stevia serrata

Stevia is a genus of about 240 species of herbs and shrubs in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), native to subtropical and tropical South America and Central America. The species Stevia rebaudiana, commonly known as sweetleaf, sweet leaf, sugarleaf, or simply stevia, is widely grown for its sweet leaves. As a sweetener and sugar substitute, stevia's taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar, although some of its extracts may have a bitter or licorice-like aftertaste at high concentrations.

With its extracts having up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar, stevia has garnered attention with the rise in demand for low-carbohydrate, low-sugar food alternatives. Medical research has also shown possible benefits of stevia in treating obesity and high blood pressure. Because stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to people on carbohydrate-controlled diets. However, health and political controversies have limited stevia's availability in many countries; for example, the United States banned it in the early 1990s unless labeled as a supplement. Stevia is widely used as a sweetener in Japan, and it is now available in Canada as a dietary supplement.

Rebiana is a trade name for a zero-calorie sweetener containing mainly the steviol glycoside rebaudioside A (Reb-A), which is extracted from stevia.[1] Truvia is the consumer brand for a sweetener made of erythritol, Rebiana and natural flavors[2] marketed by Cargill and developed jointly with The Coca-Cola Company.[3][4] In December 2008, the United States Food and Drug Administration permitted Reb A based sweeteners as food additives.[5] PureVia is the PepsiCo and Merisant brand of Reb A.[6]

History and use

The genus Stevia consists of 240[7] species of plants native to South America, Central America, and Mexico, with several species found as far north as Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.[8] Human use of the sweet species S. rebaudiana originated in South America. The leaves of the stevia plant have 30–45 times the sweetness of sucrose (ordinary table sugar).[9] The leaves can be eaten fresh, or put in teas and foods.

In 1899, The Swiss botanist Moisés Santiago Bertoni first described the plant and the sweet taste in detail.[10] But only limited research was conducted on the topic, until in 1931, two French chemists isolated the glycosides that give stevia its sweet taste.[11] These compounds were named stevioside and rebaudioside, and are 250–300 times sweeter than sucrose, heat stable, pH stable, and non-fermentable.[12]

The exact structure of the aglycone and the glycoside were published in 1955.

In the early 1970s, Japan began cultivating stevia as an alternative to artificial sweeteners such as cyclamate and saccharin, which were suspected carcinogens. The plant's leaves, the aqueous extract of the leaves, and purified steviosides are used as sweeteners. Since the Japanese firm Morita Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. produced the first commercial stevia sweetener in Japan in 1971,[13] the Japanese have been using stevia in food products, soft drinks (including Coca Cola),[14] and for table use. Japan currently consumes more stevia than any other country, with stevia accounting for 40% of the sweetener market.[15]

Today, stevia is cultivated and used in food elsewhere in east Asia, including in China (since 1984), Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia. It can also be found in Saint Kitts and Nevis, in parts of South America (Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay, and Uruguay) and in Israel. China is the world's largest exporter of stevioside.[15]

Stevia species are found in the wild in semi-arid habitats ranging from grassland to mountain terrain. Stevia does produce seeds, but only a small percentage of them germinate. Planting cloned stevia is a more effective method of reproduction.

Medicinal use

S. rebaudiana foliage

For centuries, the Guaraní tribes of Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil used stevia, which they called ka'a he'ê ("sweet herb"), as a sweetener in yerba mate and medicinal teas for treating heartburn and other ailments.[16] More recent medical research has shown promise in treating obesity[17] and hypertension.[18][19] Stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, even enhancing glucose tolerance;[20] therefore, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to diabetics and others on carbohydrate-controlled diets.[21]

Possible treatment of osteoporosis has been suggested by observations that eggshell breakage can be reduced by 75% by adding a small percentage of stevia leaf powder to chicken feed, and that pigs given 2% stevia leaf powder in their feed experienced a doubling of serum calcium.[22]

Availability

Steviol glycosides were first commercialized as a sweetener in 1971 by the Japanese firm Morita Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd., a leading stevia extract producer in Japan.

Stevia has been grown on an experimental basis in Ontario, Canada since 1987 for the purpose of determining the feasibility of growing the crop commercially. In the United States, Rebiana is generally recognized as safe as of December 2008, and stevia is also recognized as a dietary supplement. Stevia has also been approved as a dietary supplement in Australia, New Zealand[23] and Canada. Since Jun 2008 it is approved as a sweetener for food and beverages in Australia and New Zealand.[24] In Japan and South American countries, stevia may also be used as a food additive. Stevia is currently banned for use in food in the European Union.[25] It is also banned in Singapore and Hong Kong.[26]

In 2007, The Coca-Cola Company announced plans to obtain approval for rebiana for use as a food additive within the United States by 2009, as well as plans to market rebiana-sweetened products in 12 countries that allow stevia's use as a food additive.[27][28] In May 2008, Coke and Cargill announced the availability of Truvia, a consumer brand stevia sweetener containing erythritol and Rebiana,[29] which the FDA permitted as a food additive in December 2008.[5] Coca-Cola announced intentions to release stevia-sweetened beverages in late December 2008.[30]

Shortly afterward, PepsiCo and Pure Circle announced PureVia, their brand of stevia-based sweetener, but withheld release of beverages sweetened with reb-A until receipt of FDA confirmation. Since the FDA permitted Truvia and PureVia, both Coca Cola and PepsiCo have announced products that will contain their new sweetener.[4]

Critics note that the FDA has not actually permitted the stevia plant itself to be used as a food additive, but only the Reb A extract.[31]

Production

To produce rebaudioside A commercially, stevia plants are dried and subjected to a water extraction process. This crude extract contains about 50% rebaudioside A and is refined using natural crystallization and separation technologies to separate the various glycoside molecules in the extract. This allows the manufacturer to isolate pure rebaudioside A. [32]

The National Research Council of Canada has patented a process for extracting sweet compounds from Stevia by column extraction at temperatures from 0-25°C , followed by purification by nanofiltration. A microfiltration pretreatment step is used to clarify the extract. Purification is by ultrafiltration followed by nanofiltration. [33]

Controversies

Steviol is the basic building block of stevia's sweet glycosides: Stevioside and rebaudioside A are constructed by replacing the bottom hydrogen atom with glucose and the top hydrogen atom with two or three linked glucose groups, respectively.

Health controversy

A 1985 study reported that steviol, a breakdown product from stevioside and rebaudioside (two of the sweet steviol glycosides in the stevia leaf), is a mutagen in the presence of a liver extract of pre-treated rats[34] — but this finding was criticized on procedural grounds that the data were mishandled in such a way that even distilled water would appear mutagenic.[35] Over the following years bioassay, cell culture, and animal studies have shown mixed results in terms of toxicology and adverse effects of stevia constituents, but in general, they have not been found to be harmful. While reports emerged that found steviol and stevioside to be weak mutagens,[36][37] the bulk of studies show an absence of harmful effects.[38][39] In a 2008 review, 14 of 16 studies cited showed no genotoxic activity for stevioside, 11 of 15 studies showed genotoxic activity for steviol, and no studies showed genotoxicity for Rebaudioside A. Nevertheless, even if a chemical can cause DNA damage in the controlled conditions of a bioassay (e.g., in bacteria, in mammalian cell cultures) it is a fundamentally different question whether it causes cancer in intact organisms (e.g., rodents, humans) or is teratogenic (i.e., causes birth defects). No evidence for stevia constituents causing cancer or birth defects has been found.[38][39]

Other studies have shown stevia improves insulin sensitivity in rats[40] and may even promote additional insulin production,[41] helping to reverse diabetes and metabolic syndrome.[42] Preliminary human studies show stevia can help reduce hypertension[43] although another study has shown it has no effect on hypertension.[44] Indeed, millions of Japanese have been using stevia for over thirty years with no reported or known harmful effects.[45] Similarly, stevia leaves have been used for centuries in South America spanning multiple generations in ethnomedical tradition as a treatment of type II diabetes.[46]

In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) performed a thorough evaluation of recent experimental studies of stevioside and steviols conducted on animals and humans, and concluded that "stevioside and rebaudioside A are not genotoxic in vitro or in vivo and that the genotoxicity of steviol and some of its oxidative derivatives in vitro is not expressed in vivo."[47] The report also found no evidence of carcinogenic activity. Furthermore, the report noted that "stevioside has shown some evidence of pharmacological effects in patients with hypertension or with type-2 diabetes"[47] but concluded that further study was required to determine proper dosage.

Whole foods proponents draw a distinction between consuming (and safety testing) only parts, such as stevia extracts and isolated compounds like stevioside, versus the whole herb.[48] However, professionals in pharmacognosy, as well as physicians and science journalists disagree that whole foods are beneficial over extracted components, and may even be harmful.[49][50]

Political controversy

The stevia plant may be grown legally in most countries, although some countries restrict or ban its use as a sweetener.

In 1991, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeled stevia as an "unsafe food additive" and restricted its import. The FDA's stated reason was "toxicological information on stevia is inadequate to demonstrate its safety."[51] This ruling was controversial, as stevia proponents pointed out that this designation violated the FDA's own guidelines under which natural substances used prior to 1958, with no reported adverse effects, should be generally recognized as safe (GRAS) as long as the substance was being used in the same way and format as prior to 1958.

Stevia occurs naturally, requiring no patent to produce it. As a consequence, since the import ban in 1991, marketers and consumers of stevia have shared a belief that the FDA acted in response to industry pressure.[23] Arizona congressman Jon Kyl, for example, called the FDA action against stevia "a restraint of trade to benefit the artificial sweetener industry."[52] Citing privacy issues, the FDA has not revealed the source of the original complaint in its responses to requests filed under the Freedom of Information Act.[23]

After the passage of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) in 1994, the status of stevia (as a dietary supplement or food ingredient) was not clear. In 1995, Sunrider International successfully petitioned the FDA to allow the sale of stevia extract as a dietary supplement in the U.S.[53][54]. Stevia was thus allowed to be used as a dietary supplement, although not as a food additive — a position that stevia proponents regard as contradictory because it simultaneously labels stevia as safe and unsafe, depending on how it is sold.[55]

Although unresolved questions remain about whether metabolic processes can produce a mutagen from stevia in animals, let alone in humans, the early studies nevertheless prompted the European Commission in 1999 to ban stevia's use in food in the European Union pending further research.[25] Singapore and Hong Kong have banned it also.[26] More recent data compiled in the safety evaluation released by the World Health Organization in 2006[47] suggest that these policies may be obsolete.

In December 2008, the FDA gave a "no objection" approval for GRAS status to Truvia (developed by Cargill and The Coca-Cola Company) and PureVia (developed by PepsiCo and the Whole Earth Sweetener Company, a subsidiary of Merisant), both of which are wholly-derived from the Stevia plant. [56]

Names in other languages

Both the sweetener and the stevia plant Stevia rebaudiana (also known as Eupatorium rebaudianum[57]) are known simply as "stevia" (Template:PronEng) in English-speaking countries as well as in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Israel, Norway and Sweden — although some of these countries also use other terms as shown below. Similar pronunciations occur in Japan (sutebia or ステビア in katakana), and in Thailand (satiwia). In some countries (India, for example) the name translates literally as "sweet leaf." Below are some names for the stevia plant in various regions of the world:[58]

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "New scientific studies establish the safety of rebiana". Cargill. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  2. ^ "Truvia Ingredients information on Cargill's Truvia web-page". Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  3. ^ "Cargill names GLG Life Tech as supplier". Reuters. 4 January 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  4. ^ a b "FDA Approves 2 New Sweeteners". The New York Times. Associated Press. 17 December 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  5. ^ a b "Stevia sweetener gets US FDA go-ahead". Decision News Media SAS. 18 December 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  6. ^ Hills, Sarah (6 January 2009). "New Reb A collaboration to enhance flavor". Decision News Media SAS. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  7. ^ "Stevia". Flora of North America.
  8. ^ "Stevia Cav". USDA PLANTS.
  9. ^ "Opnion on Stevia Rebaudiana plants and leaves" (PDF) (Press release). European Commission Scientific Committee on Food. 1999-06-17. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
  10. ^ Bertoni, Moisés Santiago (1899). Revista de Agronomia de l’Assomption. 1: 35. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ Bridel, M. (1931). "Sur le principe sucre des feuilles de kaa-he-e (stevia rebaundiana B)". Academie des Sciences Paris Comptes Rendus (Parts 192): 1123–5. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Brandle, Jim (2004-08-19). "FAQ - Stevia, Nature's Natural Low Calorie Sweetener" (HTML). Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Retrieved 2006-11-08. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ "Stevia" (HTML). Morita Kagaku Kogyuo Co., Ltd. 2004. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  14. ^ Taylor, Leslie (2005). The Healing Power of Natural Herbs. Garden City Park, NY: Square One Publishers, Inc. pp. (excerpted at weblink). ISBN 0-7570-0144-0. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  15. ^ a b Jones, Georgia (2006). "Stevia" (HTML). NebGuide: University of Nebraska–Lincoln Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2007-05-04. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  16. ^ Tanvir, Ashraf (2005-05-24). "Sugar Leav – A new breed of 'sweetener'". Pakistan Agricultural Research Council. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
  17. ^ PubMed research articles related to treatments of obesity
  18. ^ PubMed research articles on stevia's effects on blood pressure
  19. ^ PubMed articles on stevia's use in treating hypertension
  20. ^ Curi R, Alvarez M, Bazotte RB, Botion LM, Godoy JL, Bracht A (1986). "Effect of Stevia rebaudiana on glucose tolerance in normal adult humans". Braz. J. Med. Biol. Res. 19 (6): 771–4. PMID 3651629.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ Gregersen S, Jeppesen PB, Holst JJ, Hermansen K (2004). "Antihyperglycemic effects of stevioside in type 2 diabetic subjects". Metab. Clin. Exp. 53 (1): 73–6. PMID 14681845. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ "Medicinal use of Stevia". SteviaZone.org. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
  23. ^ a b c Hawke, Jenny (February–March 2003). "The Bittersweet Story of the Stevia Herb" (PDF). Nexus magazine. 10 (2). Retrieved 2008-07-09. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: date format (link)
  24. ^ Stevia gets Australian approval for food and beverages
  25. ^ a b European Commission Scientific Committee on Food (June 1999). Opinion on Stevioside as a Sweetener
  26. ^ a b Li, Simon (27 March 2002), Fact Sheet: Stevioside (PDF), Hong Kong Legislative Council Secretariat Research and Library Services Division
  27. ^ Stanford, Duane D. (2007-05-31). "Coke and Cargill teaming on new drink sweetener". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
  28. ^ Etter, Lauren and McKay, Betsy (2007-05-31). "Coke, Cargill Aim For a Shake-Up In Sweeteners". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2007-06-01.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ "Truvia ingredients". Retrieved 2008-05-15.
  30. ^ Associated Press (2008-12-15). "Coke to sell drinks with stevia; Pepsi holds off". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
  31. ^ Vaughter, Sarah. "Truvia gets OK - Stevia still banned by FDA". Retrieved 2008-01-06.
  32. ^ Purkayastha, S. ""A Guide to Reb A," Food Product Design". Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  33. ^ "United States Patent 5,972,120 Extraction of sweet compounds from Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni".
  34. ^ Pezzuto JM, Compadre CM, Swanson SM, Nanayakkara D, Kinghorn AD (1985). "Metabolically activated steviol, the aglycone of stevioside, is mutagenic". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 82 (8): 2478–82. doi:10.1073/pnas.82.8.2478. PMC 397582. PMID 3887402. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  35. ^ Procinska E, Bridges BA, Hanson JR (1991). "Interpretation of results with the [[8-azaguanine]] resistance system in Salmonella typhimurium: no evidence for direct acting mutagenesis by 15-oxosteviol, a possible metabolite of steviol". Mutagenesis. 6 (2): 165–7. doi:10.1093/mutage/6.2.165. PMID 2056919. {{cite journal}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) – article text is reproduced here.
  36. ^ Matsui M, Matsui K, Kawasaki Y; et al. (1996). "Evaluation of the genotoxicity of stevioside and steviol using six in vitro and one in vivo mutagenicity assays". Mutagenesis. 11 (6): 573–9. doi:10.1093/mutage/11.6.573. PMID 8962427. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  37. ^ Nunes AP, Ferreira-Machado SC, Nunes RM, Dantas FJ, De Mattos JC, Caldeira-de-Araújo A (2007). "Analysis of genotoxic potentiality of stevioside by comet assay". Food Chem Toxicol. 45 (4): 662–6. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2006.10.015. PMID 17187912.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  38. ^ a b Geuns JM (2003). "Stevioside". Phytochemistry. 64 (5): 913–21. doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(03)00426-6. PMID 14561506.
  39. ^ a b Brusick DJ (2008). "A critical review of the genetic toxicity of steviol and steviol glycosides". Food Chem Toxicol. 46 (7): S83 – S91. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2008.05.002. PMID 18556105.
  40. ^ Lailerd N, Saengsirisuwan V, Sloniger JA, Toskulkao C, Henriksen EJ (2004). "Effects of stevioside on glucose transport activity in insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant rat skeletal muscle". Metab. Clin. Exp. 53 (1): 101–7. doi:10.1016/j.metabol.2003.07.014. PMID 14681850. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  41. ^ Jeppesen PB, Gregersen S, Rolfsen SE; et al. (2003). "Antihyperglycemic and blood pressure-reducing effects of stevioside in the diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rat". Metab. Clin. Exp. 52 (3): 372–8. doi:10.1053/meta.2003.50058. PMID 12647278. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  42. ^ Dyrskog SE, Jeppesen PB, Colombo M, Abudula R, Hermansen K (2005). "Preventive effects of a soy-based diet supplemented with stevioside on the development of the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes in Zucker diabetic fatty rats". Metab. Clin. Exp. 54 (9): 1181–8. doi:10.1016/j.metabol.2005.03.026. PMID 16125530. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  43. ^ Hsieh MH, Chan P, Sue YM; et al. (2003). "Efficacy and tolerability of oral stevioside in patients with mild essential hypertension: a two-year, randomized, placebo-controlled study". Clin Ther. 25 (11): 2797–808. doi:10.1016/S0149-2918(03)80334-X. PMID 14693305. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  44. ^ Ferri LA, Alves-Do-Prado W, Yamada SS, Gazola S, Batista MR, Bazotte RB (2006). "Investigation of the antihypertensive effect of oral crude stevioside in patients with mild essential hypertension". Phytother Res. 20 (9): 732–6. doi:10.1002/ptr.1944. PMID 16775813. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  45. ^ "Products and Markets - Stevia" ([HTML]). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - Forestry Department. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
  46. ^ Abudula R, Jeppesen PB, Rolfsen SE, Xiao J, Hermansen K (2004). "Rebaudioside A potently stimulates insulin secretion from isolated mouse islets: studies on the dose-, glucose-, and calcium-dependency". Metab. Clin. Exp. 53 (10): 1378–81. doi:10.1016/j.metabol.2004.04.014. PMID 15375798. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  47. ^ a b c Benford, D.J. (2006). "Safety Evaluation of Certain Food Additives: Steviol Glycosides" (PDF – 18 MB). WHO Food Additives Series. 54. World Health Organization Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA): 140. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  48. ^ "Obtain only the green or brown [whole] stevia extracts or powders; avoid the clear extracts and white powders, which, highly refined and lacking essential phyto-nutrients, cause imbalance". Pitchford, Paul (2002). Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition (3rd ed.). Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books. ISBN 1-55643-430-8. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  49. ^ Tyler, Varro E (1999-08-31). "False Tenets of Paraherbalism" (HTML). Quackwatch, Inc. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  50. ^ Goldacre, Ben (2007-10-06). "The problem with herbalists" (HTML). Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
  51. ^ Food and Drug Administration (1995, rev 1996, 2005). Import Alert #45-06: "Automatic Detention of Stevia Leaves, Extract of Stevia Leaves, and Food Containing Stevia"
  52. ^ Kyl, John (R-Arizona) (1993). Letter to former FDA Commissioner David Aaron Kessler about the 1991 stevia import ban, quoted at herbalremedies.com.
  53. ^ "New Dietary Ingredients in Dietary Supplements - Background for Industry". Food and Drug Administration. 2001. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  54. ^ Linda S. Kahl, Ph.D. (1995). "Submission for Docket 95S-0316, 75-Day Premarket Notification for New Dietary Ingredients" (PDF). Food and Drug Administration Memorandum. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  55. ^ McCaleb, Rob (1997). "Controversial Products in the Natural Foods Market" (HTML). Herb Research Foundation. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  56. ^ Newmarker, Chris (2008). "Federal regulators give OK for Cargill's Truvia sweetener" (HTML). Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  57. ^ "Asteraceae Eupatorium rebaudianum Bertoni". International Plant Names Index.
  58. ^ The Multilingual Multiscript plant name database has terms for the Stevia plant in various languages.
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