Stevioside is the main strong sweet component in stevioside, also known as stevioside. Stevioside is a diterpenoid glycoside, which is a tetracyclic diterpenoid compound. Stevioside is linked with a glucose at the C-4 position and a disaccharide at the C-13 position. Stevioside is white or yellowish loose powder or crystal under normal temperature. It is stable at room temperature. Its sweetness is about 300 times of that of sucrose. Its taste is similar to that of sucrose. It has pure sweetness and no peculiar smell. Its residual taste lasts longer than sucrose. Its heat is only one third of that of sucrose. It has good thermal stability, low toxicity and wide application range. It is called the third natural sugar source after sucrose and beet sugar.
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