Is Rebaudioside A The Same As Stevia?

No, Rebaudioside A is not the same as Stevia. However, this simple negation belies a complex and fascinating relationship. Rebaudioside A is not stevia in the same way that a potent compound within a medicinal herb is not the whole plant itself. In fact, rebaudioside A powder is a singular, highly refined component derived from the stevia plant.

What is the composition of stevia?

Stevia is not due to a single molecule but to a suite of related molecules known as steviol glycosides. These are molecules composed of a central core, steviol, attached to various sugar moieties (like glucose and rhamnose). The type, number, and arrangement of these attached sugars create different glycosides, each with unique sensory properties.

To date, scientists have identified over 40 different steviol glycosides in the stevia plant. The most prominent among them are:

• Stevioside:

This is often the most abundant glycoside in the raw leaf, typically comprising 5-10% of the dry leaf weight. It is intensely sweet (about 250-300 times sweeter than sucrose) but is also the primary contributor to the bitter and licorice-like aftertaste associated with crude stevia extracts.

• Rebaudioside A (Reb A):

This is the second most abundant glycoside in most stevia cultivars, and the most famous. It is slightly sweeter than stevioside (about 350-450 times sweeter than sucrose) and, critically, it has a significantly cleaner, sweeter taste with markedly less bitterness. This superior sensory profile made rebaudioside A powder the initial focus of the commercial sweetener industry.

• Other Glycosides:

Rebaudioside C, D, F, and M, along with Dulcoside A, are also present in smaller quantities. Notably, Rebaudioside D (Reb D) and Rebaudioside M (Reb M) have been found to have taste profiles even closer to sugar, with virtually no bitter aftertaste. They are often called the "next-generation" stevia glycosides, but they occur in much lower concentrations in the plant, making their extraction more challenging and expensive.

Here lies the core of the distinction: Stevia is the source, while rebaudioside A powder is a specific, highly desirable component within that source. Stevia is a cocktail of sweeteners, while Reb A is a refined, single-element ingredient.

Rebaudioside A And Stevia

This is where the practical distinction between "stevia" and "rebaudioside A powder" becomes most apparent. The journey from farm to table involves several stages of refinement:

Cultivation and Harvesting:

Stevia rebaudiana is cultivated, and the leaves are harvested.

Drying and Initial Extraction:

The leaves are dried and then steeped in hot water, similar to making tea. This process extracts the steviol glycosides (along with other water-soluble compounds) from the plant material, resulting in a crude, dark-colored liquid extract.

Clarification and Filtration:

This crude extract undergoes a series of filtration and clarification steps to remove plant pigments, oils, and other impurities. This can involve using activated carbon or other filtering agents.

Crystallization and Separation:

Here, the path splits.

• Path A: Standard Stevia Extract: The extract is further processed to concentrate the total steviol glycosides. The final product is a powder that contains a mix of all the naturally occurring glycosides-Stevioside, Reb A, Reb C, etc.-in a ratio similar to, but more concentrated than, the original leaf. This is often marketed as "Stevia Leaf Extract" or simply "Stevia." It will have a more complex, and often more bitter, taste profile due to the significant presence of Stevioside.

• Path B: High-Purity Rebaudioside A: To isolate rebaudioside A powder, the extract undergoes advanced separation techniques, most commonly chromatography. In this process, the liquid extract is passed through a column that separates the different glycosides based on their slight differences in molecular weight and polarity. Reb A molecules are separated from Stevioside and the others. The isolated Reb A is then crystallized from a food-grade solvent and dried into a fine, white powder that can be 99% pure Rebaudioside A.

The product of Path B is fundamentally different from the product of Path A. One is a purified, single chemical compound; the other is a concentrated botanical mixture.

Why is stevioside and rebaudioside a Confusion?

This market reality is why the confusion persists. Colloquially, "stevia" has become a catch-all term for any sweetener derived from the Stevia rebaudiana plant. When people say they "like the taste of stevia," they are, in most cases, referring to the taste of purified rebaudioside A powder. If they were to taste a whole-leaf extract or a crude stevia powder high in Stevioside, their opinion might be very different.

This is also where the role of bulk suppliers becomes critical. Guanjie Biotech supplies the raw materials stevia powder and rebaudioside A powder that fuel this market. They provide a spectrum of products to meet diverse needs:

Summary Table

Conclusion

No, rebaudioside A powder is not the same as stevia. Think of the stevia plant as a complex orchestra and Reb A as its star soloist. It is a specific, purified compound extracted from the stevia leaf, prized for having the cleanest, sweetest taste with minimal bitterness. It is the "best-tasting" molecule that manufacturers extract to create the pleasant, high-intensity sweeteners we know and buy off the shelf. When people say they prefer the taste of "stevia," they are almost always referring to the taste of purified Reb A. Guanjie Biotech is a high-purity Rebaudioside A suppliers. If you need add stevia extract Rebaudioside A powder to your product, welcome to enuire with us. We have focused on plant extract for 20 years. We have passed HALAL, HACCP,ISO, Kosher and others. Welcome to enquire with us at info@gybiotech.com.

References

[1] Lemus-Mondaca, R., Vega-Gálvez, A., Zura-Bravo, L., & Ah-Hen, K. (2012). Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, source of a high-potency natural sweetener: A comprehensive review on the biochemical, nutritional and functional aspects. Food Chemistry, 132(3), 1121-1132.

[2] Prakash, I., Markosyan, A., & Bunders, C. (2014). Development of next generation stevia sweetener: Rebaudioside M. Foods, 3(1), 162-175.

[3] European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). (2010). Scientific Opinion on the safety of steviol glycosides for the proposed uses as a food additive. EFSA Journal, 8(4), 1537.

[4] U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (2018). GRAS Notices for Steviol Glycosides. [Online] Available at: FDA.gov

[5] Purkayastha, S., & Markosyan, A. (2016). Steviol Glycosides: Global Research and Future Directions. In Natural Products: Phytochemistry, Botany and Metabolism of Alkaloids, Phenolics and Terpenes (pp. 1-22). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.