STEVIA AS SUBSTITUTE FOR WHITE SUGAR
Sweet leaf as sugar substitute for diabetics categorized as shrubs suitable for ground cover decorator. Edible Garden or Ingredients Garden CONCEPT emphasizes every tree can be grown as food, medicine as well as decorate the garden.
For that reason, there are some trees that are categorized as herbs and can be an interesting ornamental plant Ingredients Garden includes the stevia or sweet leaf. Stevia is not only beautiful in name but unique for the nutrients it’s produced to replace sugar.
It is said to be replacing sugar for diabetics, and are also categorized as an ornamental shrubs plant. The leaves are oval shaped while the stem is soft. It can grow up to a meter or more and has small white flowers resembling a daisy. Stevia is one of 150 species of herbs in the sunflower family (Astereacea). Thus, stevia seed yield at maturity.
This tree can also reproduce using seeds, but seeds germination rate is very low so rarely bred that way. Thus, breeding often using stem cuttings. Stevia is derived from tropical and sub-tropical South America and Central America, some say it originated in Paraguay.
In addition to landscaping, stevia is widely used as a sweetener. Commonly used stevia as a sweetener is Rebaudiana species. It was first used by Red Indians Guarani in Paraguay since 1500 years ago as a sweetener in herbal tea and meals. They also use Stevia as a remedy for lowering high blood pressure, urination and treat burns.
In Europe, the use of stevia as a sweetener was discovered in the 16th century and it was brought to Asia. Studies on the plant began in the early 19th century when researchers in Brazil heard a story of a stevia leaf can sweeten the bitter fruit and a cup of herbal tea. Paraguay botanists, Moises Bertoni S has written extensively on the plant until people know the uniqueness and advantages.
Interestingly, stevia is a natural sweetener that contains no calories and its extract is said to be 300 times sweeter than sugar. The study found that the main element in Stevia which is steviosid does not contain toxic. It also did not cause cell mutation and does not affect fertility, but there is a conflict of fertility studies of stevia.
One study found that it did not give any effect on fertility, while another study found that water extracted from stevia leaves has lower the levels of testosterone and sperm count in male rats when tested. Resulting from this study, scientists concluded that steviosid taken orally is effective in lowering blood pressure and it may be considered as an alternative or supplement to high blood pressure.
A group of scientists tested the hypoglycemic effects of glycoside in the stevia. They also studied the effects of glucose production to the glycosides , steviol , isosteviol and glukosilsteviol. Steviol found to not produce glucose . Also in 2000, researchers in Denmark have conducted a study which shows hypoglycemic action in vitro done by steviosid and steviol are the result of the ability to both produce insulin through direct action on beta cells. They concluded that the study found that these compounds may have the potential to be anti-hypoglycemic agents in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. There is an opinion said stevia is also used as a tonic for the heart, to stabilize blood pressure and heart rate.
Now, millions of people in Brazil and Japan uses stevia as a food flavoring and natural sweetener. It has been approved food flavors the past 20 years. Japanese is the biggest consumer of stevia. They sweeten almost all food products including pickles, soft drinks and chocolate. In fact, it was reported that companies such as Coca Cola drink manufacturers have used stevia extract as a replacement for NutraSweet and saccharin for their products marketed in Japan, Brazil and Canada. In the United States, stevia is a controlled substance that cannot be used on food products. This may be due to the monopoly producer of synthetic sweetener without calories that are in there.
INFO: Stevia
• Soil – compost + clay mixture that not hold water
• Stevia need sunlight and enough water and need to be watered twice a day in hot weather.
• The tree will quickly dry up and die if not watered enough
• The usual dose is used and intended to use stevia is 1/4 Tbsp. The crushed leaves are used to replace 1 tablespoon sugar.
Local Name: Stevia
Scientific Name: Stevia Rebaudiana
Aliases: sweet tea, sweet leaf of Paraguay, caa-he-ee, kaa jheéé, ca-a-jhei, ca-a-yupi, azucacaa, Eira-caa,
Synonym: Eupatorium rebaudianum Capim Doce, Doce erva, sweet-Herb, Yerba honey, honeyleaf, yaa Waan, candy leaf, sugarleaf.
