Acceptance of Stevia as a Sugar Substitute and its Determinants among Health Educated Individuals and its Determinants

Abstract

Introduction: Stevia is a safe, zero calorie, low glycaemic, natural sweetener and is suitable for pre-diabetic and diabetic patients. This study investigated the perceived effect of a stevia product on taste, satiety, appetite and carbohydrate craving, and its acceptance as a sugar substitute. Methodology: An exploratory study was conducted among the randomly selected group of 73 medical students and eight lecturers. The participants consumed commercially available stevia,replacing sugar, with their morning drink for a week. Data was collected by face to face interview using a standardized questionnaire pre and post stevia challenge. Results: The Majority (66.7%) of respondents from student group liked the taste of stevia,74.1% experienced after taste and 65.4% reported taste change of the drink with stevia. During the challenge week, 34.6% experienced early satiety, 8.6% had increased appetite and 16.0% noted carbohydrate craving. The majority of respondents were willing to continue with stevia for their health benefits and 95.1% wanted to recommend it for diabetic patients. In contrary, 66.7% of participants from lecturer group did not like the taste of stevia. Significant association was found between the amount of stevia used and liking the taste of stevia (p <0.05). Taste liking is positively (p <0.001)and perceived taste change of the drink is negatively correlated to its acceptance ( p <0.05). Conclusion:The majority of respondents demonstrated good acceptance of commercially available stevia product.Liking sweet taste of stevia and perceived taste change of their drink determined the acceptance of stevia product among health educated individuals. Future research should focus on effectiveness of natural sweeteners in reducing calorie intake to fight against obesity to provide public health policy makers with more evidence based information on use of non-caloric sweeteners.

Exploring Consumer Awareness of Curculigo Latifolia as a Sugar Substitute

“…The factor of health concern showed that it encouraged consumers to be aware of C. latifolia as a sugar substitute because consumers are concerned with their health. This finding is consistent with Mu'izzuddin et al (2020) where consumers were willing to continue using stevia due to its health benefits. Most respondents wanted to recommend it for diabetic patients.…”

Beyond the PAR spectra: impact of light quality on the germination, flowering, and metabolite content of Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni)

“…As is the case in many developing countries, Malaysia has a large proportion of its population who are either suffering from diabetes or are at risk of being diabetic, and would benefit from a safe, economical, and ecologically safe alternative sweetener. 16 LEDs with narrow bandwidth, allow for the optimization of light quality and quantity and can be used efficiently in a controlled growth environment. Driven by the increase in usage and popularity of LEDs in general lighting and automotive applications, the overall production costs and system efficiencies of LEDs have improved significantly.…”

“…14 Purified stevia extract has been approved for use as a food additive and sweetener by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Foods Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), and by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). [15][16][17] The recognition by the FDA, EFSA and FSANZ has opened up the use of stevia extracts in major markets, driving global demand which is expected to grow from USD338 million in 2014 to USD554 million by the end of 2024. 15 In developed and developing countries in Asia, such as Malaysia, dried stevia leaves and leaf extracts have been popularized not only as a natural low-calorie sweetener but also as an herbal supplement, based on reported anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive, and anti-hyperglycaemic properties.…”

“…15 In developed and developing countries in Asia, such as Malaysia, dried stevia leaves and leaf extracts have been popularized not only as a natural low-calorie sweetener but also as an herbal supplement, based on reported anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive, and anti-hyperglycaemic properties. 16,18 At present, unprocessed and processed stevia leaves are imported from China, India and South America with little local cultivation due to the non-ideal photoperiodic conditions in this geographical region. 18 The total steviol glycoside (SG) content in field grown plants in their native environment ranges between 4% to 20% of the total dry leaf biomass, with stevioside (ST) and rebaudioside A (Reb A) being the main glycosides: ST at 5-10% of the total dry leaf biomass and Reb A at 2-5%.…”

Artificial Lighting Photoperiod Manipulation Approach to Improve Productivity and Energy Use Efficacies of Plant Factory Cultivated Stevia rebaudiana

“…The steviol glycoside (SG) compounds found in its leaves, stems and flowers form the basis of zero calorie sweeteners that have become highly popular globally due to the lack of harmful side effects commonly associated with alternative synthetic artificial sweeteners [15,16]. Purified Stevia extracts have been approved for use as a food additive and sweetener by the USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Foods Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) [17,18]. This recognition has seen an increase in global demand for Stevia extracts, rising from 5100 tonnes valued at USD 338 million in 2014 to an estimated 8100 tonnes with a global market value of USD 554 million by the end of 2024 [19].…”