stevioside

Stevioside is a compound derived from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant, native to South America. It is a crystalline, intensely sweet glucoside with the chemical formula C₃₈H₆₀O₁₈.12

Stevioside, along with rebaudioside A, are natural compounds found in refined stevia that can be over 300 times sweeter than sucrose. Stevia is classified as a nonnutritive sweetener by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. While it has been used for centuries by the Guaraní people, it gained international popularity in the 1970s and is now widely used in Japan, East Asia, India, the United States, and Canada.1

Stevia sweeteners have some health considerations, including potential effects on gut microbiota and possible links to increased body fat in some studies. Some consumers also report nausea. Research suggests stevioside may possess antitumour, antifungal, and antimicrobial properties, but further clinical studies are needed.1