Stevia the sweetest

Presently the popular plant in my town here is Stevia, perennial herb plants. Its leaves is really the sweetest among all plants.

When I was at the plants nursery one uncle bought 4 pots. I bought 2 pots. My friend bought 1 pot. Selling like hot cakes. The price is RM15/pot as shown in the picture.

What is Stevia's Chemical Make-up?

Stevia owes its sweet, licorice-like flavor to compounds called glycosides. Stevia contains eight different glycosides, the sweetest of which is stevioside. It has also been found to contain estevin, a compound 150 times as sweet as an equivalent amount of sugar. Other active compounds that have been identified include about 100 phytonutrients and volatile oils.

Aside from its potent, non-caloric sweetening properties, stevia also has additional beneficial health and medicinal properties.

Medicinal Properties of Stevia

Herbal Properties	Actions
Hypoglycemic	Lowering blood sugar
Hypotensive	Lowering blood pressure
Anti-inflammatory	Reducing inflammation
Cardiotonic	A heart tonic
Anti-viral	Kills viruses
Anti-microbial	Preventing and treating infection
Anti-fungal	Preventing and inhibiting fungal growth
Diuretic	Increases the flow of urine

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If you are looking for a safe, natural substitute for table sugar, or do not care much for those commercial, chemical alternatives that come packaged in blue and pink packets, stevia is definitely an alternative that you can get sweet on.

Sources : http://www.herbsarespecial.com.au/free-herb-information, :http://herbs.lovetoknow.com