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The constituents responsible for stevia's sweetness were first documented in 1931, when eight novel plant chemicals called glycosides were discovered and named. Of these eight glycosides, one called stevioside is considered the sweetest—and has been tested to be approximately 300 times sweeter than sugar.* For more information about stevia (Stevia rebaudiana), please refer to the Database File for Stevia in the Tropical Plant Database. To see pictures of stevia, click here.

Traditional Uses:* as a natural sweetener; for diabetes; for high blood pressure; for cavity prevention; as a weight loss aid

Suggested Use: This plant is best prepared as an infusion (tea). Use one teaspoon of powder for each cup of water. Pour boiling water over herb in cup and allow to steep 10 minutes. Strain tea (or allow settled powder to remain in the bottom of cup) and drink warm. It is traditionally taken in 1/2 cup amounts, 3-4 times daily. This plant can be added to other herbs or beverages, stuffed into capsules, or simply stirred into water or juice. For more complete instructions on preparing herbal infusions, see the Methods for Preparing Herbal Remedies Page.
Contraindications: None reported.
Drug Interactions: In large amounts, it may enhance the effect of antihypertensive and antidiabetic medications.
Other Observations:

• 1. Stevia leaf (at dosages higher than used for sweetening purposes) has been documented to have a hypoglycemic effect. Those with diabetes should use high amounts of stevia with caution and monitor their blood sugar levels as medications may need adjusting.
• 2. Stevia leaf has been documented to have a blood pressure lowering effect (at dosages higher than used for sweetening purposes) . Persons with low blood pressure should avoid using large amounts of stevia and monitor their blood pressure levels accordingly for these possible effects.

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Published Research on Stevia

All available third-party research on stevia be found at PubMed. A partial listing of the third-party published research on stevia is shown below:

Hypotensive & Heart Tonic Actions:
Ferri, L. A., et al. "Investigation of the antihypertensive effect of oral crude stevioside in patients with mild essential hypertension." Phytother. Res. 2006 Sep; 20(9): 732-6.
Shiozaki, K., et al. "Inhibitory effects of hot water extract of the Stevia stem on the contractile response of the smooth muscle of the guinea pig ileum." Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. 2006 Feb; 70(2): 489-94.
Wong, K. L., et al."Antiproliferative effect of isosteviol on angiotensin-II-treated rat aortic smooth muscle cells." Pharmacology. 2006 Feb; 76(4): 163-169.
Wong, K. L., et al. "Isosteviol acts on potassium channels to relax isolated aortic strips of Wistar rat." Life Sci. 2004 Mar; 74(19): 2379-87.
Wong, K. L., et al. "Isosteviol as a potassium channel opener to lower intracellular calcium concentrations in cultured aortic smooth muscle cells." Planta Med. 2004; 70(2): 108-12.
Hsieh, M. H., et al. "Efficacy and tolerability of oral stevioside in patients with mild essential hypertension: a two-year, randomized, placebo-controlled study." Clin. Ther. 2003; 25(11): 2797-808.
Chan, P., et al. "A double-blind placebo-controlled study of the effectiveness and tolerability of oral stevioside in human hypertension." Br. J. Clin. Pharmacol. 2000; 50(3): 215-20.
Melis, M. S. "A crude extract of Stevia rebaudiana increase the renal plasma flow of normal and hypertensive rats." Braz. J. Med. Biol. Res. 1996; 29(5): 669-75.
Melis, M. S. "Chronic administration of aqueous extract of Stevia rebaudiana in rats: renal effects." J. Ethnopharmacol. 1995; 47(3): 129-34.
Melis, M. S. "Stevioside effect on renal function of normal and hypertensive rats." J. Ethnopharmacol. 1992; 36(3): 213-17.
Melis, M. S., et al. "Effect of calcium and verapamil on renal function of rats during treatment with stevioside." J. Ethnopharmacol. 1991; 33(3): 257-62.
Boeckh, E. M., et al. "Stevia rebaudiana bertoni: Cardio-circulatory effects of total water extract in normal persons and of stevioside in rats and frogs." First Brazilian Seminar on Stevia rebaudiana, Inst. Technol. Aliment. Campinas, Brazil, June 25-26, 1981.
Humbolt, G., et al. "Steviosideo: Efeitos Cardio-circulatorios em Ratos." V Simposio de Plantas Medicinais do Brasil. 1978; (4-6): 208.

Hypoglycemic & Anti-diabetic Actions:
Shivanna, N., et al. "Antioxidant, anti-diabetic and renal protective properties of Stevia rebaudiana." J Diabetes Complications. 2012 Nov 6.
Saravanan, R., et al. "Effect of Rebaudioside A, a diterpenoid on glucose homeostasis in STZ-induced diabetic rats." J Physiol Biochem. 2012 Sep;68(3):421-31
Kujur, R., et al. "Antidiabetic activity and phytochemical screening of crude extract of Stevia rebaudiana in alloxan-induced diabetic rats." Pharmacognosy Res. 2010 Jul;2(4):258-63.
Misra, H., et al. "Antidiabetic activity of medium-polar extract from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana Bert. (Bertoni) on alloxan-induced diabetic rats." J Pharm Bioallied Sci. 2011 Apr;3(2):242-8.
Ozbayer, C., et al. "Effects of Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) extract and N-nitro-L-arginine on renal function and ultrastructure of kidney cells in experimental type 2 Diabetes." J Med Food. 2011 Oct;14(10):1215-22.
Dyrskog, S., et al. "The diterpene glycoside, rebaudioside A, does not improve glycemic control or affect blood pressure after eight weeks treatment in the Goto-Kakizaki rat." Rev Diabet Stud. 2005 Summer;2(2):84-91.
Chen, J., et al. "Stevioside counteracts the glyburide-induced desensitization of the pancreatic beta-cell function in mice: studies in vitro." Metabolism. 2006 Dec; 55(12): 1674-80.
Ferreira, E. B., et al. "Comparative effects of Stevia rebaudiana leaves and stevioside on glycaemia and hepatic gluconeogenesis." Planta Med. 2006 Jun; 72(8): 691-6.
Chang, J. C., et al. "Increase of insulin sensitivity by stevioside in fructose-rich chow-fed rats." Horm. Metab. Res. 2005; 37(10): 610-6.
Chen, T. H., et al. "Mechanism of the hypoglycemic effect of stevioside, a glycoside of Stevia rebaudiana." Planta Med. 2005; 71(2): 108-13.
Dyrskog, S. E., et al. "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." Metabolism. 2005; 54(9): 1181-8
Abudula, R., et al. "Rebaudioside A potently stimulates insulin secretion from isolated mouse islets: studies on the dose-, glucose-, and calcium-dependency." Metabolism. 2004; 53(10): 1378-81.
Lailerd, N., et al. "Effects of stevioside on glucose transport activity in insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant rat skeletal muscle." Metabolism. 2004; 53(1): 101-7.
Gregersen, S., et al. "Antihyperglycemic effects of stevioside in type 2 diabetic subjects." Metabolism. 2004; 53(1):73-6.
Raskovic, A., et al. "Joint effect of commercial preparations of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni and sodium monoketocholate on glycemia in mice." Eur. J. Drug Metab. Pharmacokinet. 2004 Apr-Jun; 29(2): 83-6.
Raskovic, A., et al. "Glucose concentration in the blood of intact and alloxan-treated mice after pretreatment with commercial preparations of Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni)." Eur. J. Drug Metab. Pharmacokinet. 2004 Apr-Jun; 29(2):87
Gardana, C., et al. "Metabolism of stevioside and rebaudioside A from Stevia rebaudiana extracts by human microflora." J. Agric. Food Chem. 2003 Oct; 51(22): 6618-22.
Koyama, E., et al. "Absorption and metabolism of glycosidic sweeteners of stevia mixture and their aglycone, steviol, in rats and humans." Food Chem.Toxicol. 2003; 41(6): 875-83.
Jeppesen, P. B., et al. "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; 49(2): 208-14.
Yamamoto, N. S., et al. "Effect of steviol and its structural analogues on glucose production and oxygen uptake in rat renal tubules." Experientia. 1985; 41(1): 55-7.
Curi, R., et al. "Effect of Stevia rebaudiana on glucose tolerance in normal adult humans." Braz. J. Med. Biol. Res. 1986; 19(6): 771-74.
Suzuki, H., et al. "Influence of the oral administration of stevioside on the levels of blood glucose and liver glycogen in intact rats." Nogyo Kagaku Zasshi 1977; 51(3): 45
Oviedo, C. A., et al. "Hypoglycemic action of Stevia rebaudiana." Excerpta Medica. 1970; 209: 92.

Antimicrobial & Larvacidal Actions:
Gamboa, F., et al. "Antimicrobial potential of extracts from Stevia rebaudiana leaves against bacteria of importance in dental caries." Acta Odontol Latinoam. 2012;25(2):171-5.
Khaybullin, R., et al. "Synthesis and antituberculosis activity of novel unfolded and macrocyclic derivatives of ent-kaurane steviol." Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2012 Nov 15;22(22):6909-13.
Garcia, D., et al. "Effect of Equisetum arvense and Stevia rebaudiana extracts on growth and mycotoxin production by Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium verticillioides in maize seeds as affected by water activity." Int J Food Microbiol. 2012 Feb 1; 153(1-2): 21-7.
Kataev, V., et al. "[Synthesis and antituberculosis activity of the derivatives of glycoside steviolbioside from the plant Stevia rebaudiana and diterpenoid isosteviol containing hydrazone, hydrazide and pyridinoyl moieties]." Bioorg Khim. 2011 Jul-Aug;37(4):542-51.
Ahmad, N., et al. "In vitro larvicidal potential against Anopheles stephensi and antioxidative enzyme activities of Ginkgo biloba, Stevia rebaudiana and Parthenium hysterophorous." Asian Pac J Trop Med. 2011 Mar;4(3):169-75.
Matsukubo, T., et al. "Sucrose substitutes and their role in caries prevention." Int. Dent. J. 2006 Jun; 56(3): 119-30.
Pinheiro, C. E., et al. "Effect of guarana and Stevia rebaudiana bertoni (leaves) extracts, and stevioside, on the fermentation and synthesis of extracellular insoluble polysaccharides of dental plaque." Rev. Odont. Usp. 1987; 1(4): 9-13.
Takahashi, K., et al. "Analysis of anti-rotavirus activity of extract from Stevia rebaudiana." Antiviral Res. 2001; 49(1): 15-24.
Takaki, M., et al. "Antimicrobial activity in leaves extracts of Stevia rebaudiana Bert." Rev. Inst. Antibiot. Univ. Fed. Pernambuco.1985; 22(1/2): 33-9.
Tomita, T., et al. "Bactericidal activity of a fermented hot-water extract from Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni towards enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli 0157:h7 and other food-borne pathogenic bacteria." Microbiol. Immunol. 1997; 41(12): 1005-9.

Anti-inflammatory & Immune Modulation Actions:
Yingkun, N., et al. "Stevioside Protects LPS-Induced Acute Lung Injury in Mice." Inflammation. 2012 Sep 12.
Fengyang, L., et al. "Stevioside suppressed inflammatory cytokine secretion by downregulation of NF-?B and MAPK signaling pathways in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells." Inflammation. 2012 Oct;35(5):1669-75.
Bunprajun, T., et al. "Stevioside enhances satellite cell activation by inhibiting of NF-kB signaling pathway in regenerating muscle after cardiotoxin-induced injury." J Agric Food Chem. 2012 Mar 21;60(11):2844-51.
Boonkaewwan, C., et al. "Specific immunomodulatory and secretory activities of stevioside and steviol in intestinal cells." J Agric Food Chem. 2008 May 28;56(10):3777-84.
Sehar, I., et al. "Immune up regulatory response of a non-caloric natural sweetener, stevioside." Chem Biol Interact. 2008 May 28;173(2):115-21.
Boonkaewwan, C., et al. "Anti-Inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities of stevioside and its metabolite steviol on THP-1 cells." J. Agric. Food Chem. 2006 Feb; 54(3): 785-9.
Mizushina, Y., et al. "Structural analysis of isosteviol and related compounds as DNA polymerase and DNA topoisomerase inhibitors." Life Sci. 2005 Sep; 77(17): 2127-40.

Celllular Protective & Antioxidant Actions:
Shivanna, N., et al. "Antioxidant, anti-diabetic and renal protective properties of Stevia rebaudiana." J Diabetes Complications. 2012 Nov 6.
Yingkun, N., et al. "Stevioside Protects LPS-Induced Acute Lung Injury in Mice." Inflammation. 2012 Sep 12.
Wölwer-Rieck U. "The leaves of Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni), their constituents and the analyses thereof: a review." J Agric Food Chem. 2012 Feb 1;60(4):886-95.
Shukla, S., et al. "Antioxidant ability and total phenolic content of aqueous leaf extract of Stevia rebaudiana Bert." Exp Toxicol Pathol. 2012 Nov;64(7-8):807-11.
Stoyanova, S., et al. "The food additives inulin and stevioside counteract oxidative stress." Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2011 May;62(3):207-14.
Shukla, S., et al. "In vitro antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of ethanolic leaf extract of Stevia rebaudiana Bert." Food Chem Toxicol. 2009 Sep;47(9):2338-43.
Xu, D., et al. "The neuroprotective effects of isosteviol against focal cerebral ischemia injury induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats." Planta Med. 2008 Jun;74(8):816-21.
Ghanta, S., et al. "Oxidative DNA damage preventive activity and antioxidant potential of Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) Bertoni, a natural sweetener." J Agric Food Chem. 2007 Dec 26;55(26):10962-7.

Anti-lipid & Anti-Obesity Actions:
Park, J., et al. "Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni extract supplementation improves lipid and carnitine profiles in C57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat diet." J Sci Food Agric. 2010 May;90(7):1099-105.
Meuller, M., et al. "PPARa activation by culinary herbs and spices." Planta Med. 2011 Mar;77(5):497-504.

Anticancerous Actions:
Paul, S., et al. "Stevioside induced ROS-mediated apoptosis through mitochondrial pathway in human breast cancer cell line MCF-7." Nutr Cancer. 2012;64(7):1087-94.
Takahashi, K., et al. "Stevioside enhances apoptosis induced by serum deprivation in PC12 cells." Toxicol Mech Methods. 2012 May;22(4):243-9.

Toxicity / Safety Studies:
Puri, M. "Extraction and safety of stevioside"; response to the article "Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, source of a high potency natural sweetener: a comprehensive review on the biochemical, nutritional and functional aspects". Food Chem. 2012 Dec 1;135(3):1861-2;
Yadav, S., et al. "Steviol glycosides from Stevia: biosynthesis pathway review and their application in foods and medicine." Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2012;52(11):988-98.
Abdel-Rahman, A., et al. "The safety and regulation of natural products used as foods and food ingredients." Toxicol Sci. 2011 Oct;123(2):333-48.
Williams, L., et al. "Genotoxicity studies on a high-purity rebaudioside A preparation." Food Chem Toxicol. 2009 Aug;47(8):1831-6.
Curry, L., et al. "Subchronic toxicity of rebaudioside A." Food Chem Toxicol. 2008 Jul;46 Suppl 7:S11-20.
Brusick, D. "A critical review of the genetic toxicity of steviol and steviol glycosides." Food Chem Toxicol. 2008 Jul;46 Suppl 7:S83-91.
Carakostas, M., et al. "Overview: the history, technical function and safety of rebaudioside A, a naturally occurring steviol glycoside, for use in food and beverages." Food Chem Toxicol. 2008 Jul;46 Suppl 7:S1-S10.
Nikiforov, A., et al. "A 90-day oral (dietary) toxicity study of rebaudioside A in Sprague-Dawley rats." Int J Toxicol. 2008 Jan-Feb;27(1):65-80
Saenphet, K., et al. "Safety evaluation of aqueous extracts from Aegle marmelos and Stevia rebaudiana on reproduction of female rats." Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2006;37 Suppl 3:203-5.

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