Stevia
(Olea Europaea)
 

Known for its nourishing properties for the pancreas, stevia has been used by diabetics for centuries as a sweetener and as a method of controlling blood sugar levels. Stevia improves digestion and intestinal function, soothes an upset stomach and promotes quicker recovery from minor ailments. Studies have shown that stevia lowers high blood pressure without affecting normal blood pressure. Due to high beneficial mineral content and anti-bacterial properties, stevia is a wonderful additive to toothpaste or diluted as a mouthwash.

This site is not intended to provide medical advice or to substitute for the services of a qualified health care professional. Responsibility is specifically disclaimed for consequences incurred by those using the information reported. 

Table of Contents

A Layman’s Review of the Scientific Literature on Stevia
By R. Hallowitz © 2005, Published Electronic Edition, All Rights Reserved
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Abstracts of Professional Journal Literature on Stevia
Please click on the following section titles for the abstracts
 

Antimicrobial (bacteria/fungi/parasites) 

• Inhibits E. coli

Bactericidal activity of a fermented hot-water extract from Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni towards enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 and other food-borne pathogenic bacteria. Microbiol Immunol. 1997;41(12):1005-9

 Antiviral 

• Inhibition of rotavirus

Inhibition of rotavirus replication by a non-neutralizing, rotavirus VP6-specific IgA mAb. J Clin Invest. 2002 May;109(9):1203-13

Analysis of anti-rotavirus activity of extract from Stevia rebaudiana. Antiviral Res. 2001 Jan;49(1):15-24

Antigenic and molecular analyses reveal that the equine rotavirus strain H-1 is closely related to porcine, but not equine, rotaviruses: interspecies transmission from pigs to horses? Virus Genes. 2001 Jan;22(1):5-20

• Inhibition of Epstein Barr Virus

Microbial transformation of isosteviol and inhibitory effects on Epstein-Barr virus activation of the transformation products. J Nat Prod. 2004 Mar;67(3):407-10

Anti-inflammatory 

·        Inhibitory effect of stevioside on inflammation and tumor promotion

Inhibitory effect of stevioside on tumor promotion by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate in two-stage carcinogenesis in mouse skin. Biol Pharm Bull. 2002 Nov;25(11):1488-90

Cancer Tumor Suppressive/ Cancer Preventive 

• Antimicrobial/antiviral --- see detail above
• Anti-inflammatory --- see mechanism detailed above
   

Antihypertensive 

·        Antihypertensive effects of stevioside and isosteviol in humans and animals 

Inhibitory effect of stevioside on calcium influx to produce antihypertension. Planta Med. 2001 Dec;67(9):796-9

Antihypertensive effect of stevioside in different strains of hypertensive rats. Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi ( Taipei). 2002 Jan;65(1):1-6

Isosteviol as a potassium channel opener to lower intracellular calcium concentrations in cultured aortic smooth muscle cells. Planta Med. 2004 Feb;70(2):108-12

Isosteviol acts on potassium channels to relax isolated aortic strips of Wistar rat. Life Sci. 2004 Mar 26;74(19):2379-87

Mechanism of the antihypertensive effect of stevioside in anesthetized dogs. Pharmacology. 2003 Jan;67(1):14-20.

Antihyperglycemic and blood pressure-reducing effects of stevioside in the diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rat. Metabolism. 2003 Mar;52(3):372-8

A double-blind placebo-controlled study of the effectiveness and tolerability of oral stevioside in human hypertension. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2000 Sep;50(3):215-20

Efficacy and tolerability of oral stevioside in patients with mild essential hypertension: a two-year, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Clin Ther. 2003 Nov;25(11):2797-808

Diabetes Type -2 Preventive 

• Rebaudioside A stimulates insulin secretion

Rebaudioside A potently stimulates insulin secretion from isolated mouse islets: studies on the dose-, glucose-, and calcium-dependency. Metabolism. 2004 Oct;53(10):1378-81

·        Stevioside stimulates insulin secretion and induces antihyperglycemic effects

Effects of stevioside on glucose transport activity in insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant rat skeletal muscle. Metabolism. 2004 Jan;53(1):101-7

Antihyperglycemic effects of stevioside in type 2 diabetic subjects. Metabolism. 2004 Jan;53(1):73-6

Stevioside induces antihyperglycaemic, insulinotropic and glucagonostatic effects in vivo: studies in the diabetic Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats. Phytomedicine. 2002 Jan;9(1):9-14

Stevioside acts directly on pancreatic beta cells to secrete insulin: actions independent of cyclic adenosine monophosphate and adenosine triphosphate-sensitive K+-channel activity. Metabolism. 2000 Feb;49(2):208-14

Safe, effective, non-cariogenic sweetener 

• Studies on subject topics

Stevioside. Phytochemistry. 2003 Nov;64(5):913-21

Metabolism of stevioside and rebaudioside A from Stevia rebaudiana extracts by human microflora. J Agric Food Chem. 2003 Oct 22;51(22):6618-22

Absorption and metabolism of glycosidic sweeteners of stevia mixture and their aglycone, steviol, in rats and humans. Food Chem Toxicol. 2003 Jun;41(6):875-83

In vitro metabolism of the glycosidic sweeteners, Stevia mixture and enzymatically modified Stevia in human intestinal microflora. Food Chem Toxicol. 2003 Mar;41(3):359-74

Acute toxicity of stevioside, a natural sweetener, and its metabolite, steviol, in several animal species. Drug Chem Toxicol. 1997 Feb-May;20(1-2):31-44

[Genotoxicity studies of Stevia extract and steviol by the comet assay] J Toxicol Sci. 2002 Dec;27 Suppl 1:1-8

Update on low-calorie sweeteners to benefit dental health. Int Dent J. 1991 Aug;41(4):217-24

Chemical constituents of stevia

New non-glycosidic diterpenes from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana. J Nat Prod. 2003 Oct;66(10):1395-8

Rebaudioside F, a diterpene glycoside from Stevia rebaudiana. Phytochemistry. 2002 Feb;59(4):367-70

Analysis of sweet diterpene glycosides from Stevia rebaudiana: improved HPLC method. J Agric Food Chem. 2001 Oct;49(10):4538-41

Contrasting view on mutagenicity of stevia

Metabolically activated steviol, the aglycone of stevioside, is mutagenic. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1985 Apr;82(8):2478-82

Agronomic Information for Stevia

Features of development of Stevia rebaudiana shoots cultivated in the roller bioreactor and their production of steviol glycosides. Planta Med. 2002 Aug;68(8):759-62

Functional genomics uncovers three glucosyltransferases involved in the synthesis of the major sweet glucosides of Stevia rebaudiana. Plant J. 2005 Jan;41(1):56-67