Steviol Glycosides: Cultivation, Processing, Analysis and Applications in Food

The popularity of the plant Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) has risen due to increasing use and interest in its sweet constituents called steviol glycosides. In recent years, these have been approved all over the world as food additives in the category of sweetener, hence they have received more attention and their use in food formulations has increased significantly. New techniques in growing stevia have resulted in new varieties with interesting steviol glycoside profiles. Also, new techniques to analyse the content of sweeteners in different matrices and the detection of new steviol glycosides with very pleasant sensory profiles has followed. The aim of this book is to present novel uses and manufacturing developments as well as to gather together up-to-date information across the whole developing area of steviol glycosides research.

Dr.Ursula Wölwer-Rieck graduated in Food Chemistry and has a PhD in natural sciences. Her academic research is focused on the plant Stevia rebaudiana and its constituents, mainly on steviol glycosides. She has published several papers and given lectures on the analysis of steviol glycosides, their stability in food and further constituents of the plant. She is also a board member of the European Stevia Association (EUSTAS) whose petition for steviol glycosides led to their approval as food additives in Europe in 2011 and a member of the advisory board of the Global Stevia Institute.