Stevia is a sweetener and sugar substitute derived from the leaves of the plant species Stevia rebaudiana, native to Brazil and Paraguay. The active compounds are steviol glycosides, which have 30 to 150 times the sweetness of sugar, are heat-stable, pH-stable, and not fermentable.
Stevia is an herbal plant that belongs to the Asteraceae family, which means it’s closely related to ragweed, chrysanthemums and marigolds. Although there are over 200 species, Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is the most prized variety and the cultivar used for production of most edible products.
Stevia can naturally add sweetness to recipes even without contributing calories. Stevia leaf extract is about 200 times sweeter than sugar, depending on the specific compound discussed, which means that you only need a tiny bit at a time to sweeten your morning tea or next batch of healthy baked goods.
Many raw/crude stevia or minimally processed stevia products contain both types of compounds, whereas more highly processed forms only contain the rebaudiosides, which is the sweetest part of the leaf.
Rebiana, or high-purity rebaudioside A, is “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and may be used as an artificial sweetener in foods and beverages.
Research shows that using the whole leaf or purified rebaudioside A boasts some great health perks, but the same may not hold true for altered blends that actually contain very little of the plant itself.