<i>Stevia rebaudiana</i>, a Versatile Food Ingredient: The Chemical Composition and Medicinal Properties
Ronald Mlambo, Junyan Wang, Chuanpin Chen
Abstract
Stevia rebaudiana is a well‐known sugar substitute with low calories. Recently, Stevia rebaudiana has been reported with many medicinal properties that could possibly be used in functional foods. The work presents the chemical composition of Stevia rebaudiana. The Stevia is capable of treating renal diseases, liver pathologies, diabetes, hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, hypertension, tumors, microbial diseases, and obesity. Nonetheless, researches are still going on to understand Stevia. Therefore, the conclusion made is not everything known about Stevia. This work highlights chemical composition of Stevia rebaudiana and its medicinal properties like antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti‐inflammatory, antihypoglycaemic, anticancer, renal‐healing, cardiac‐healing, antilipidemic, and hepatoprotective effects. The information has been discussed from a food and medical perspective. Future works may focus on the development of novel functional foods.