Steviol Glycoside Content Dynamics during the Growth Cycle of <i>Stevia rebaudiana</i> Bert

Abstract

The sweetener compounds in Stevia, steviol glycosides (SG), are mainly found in the leaves. The SG content depends on the plant's growth stage and is usually highest just before flowering. In temperate areas, Stevia is a polyannual crop (5 -7 years) with a vegetative period lasting from April-May until October, during which time the crop can be harvested two or three times. This research focuses on the need for knowledge about Stevia's response to temperate climates in Southern Europe. Two field assays were established from June to October 2013 at two sites in Navarra (Spain). The biomass and content of the two major SG, stevioside (ST) and rebaudioside A (RA), were measured using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) in 66 cloned plants, at different developmental stages. Although the results from the two sites showed different SG leaf content dynamics during the plant growth, the optimum harvest date at both sites coincided with the bud-flowering stage at the beginning of September (around 96 days after planting), when a ST yield of 27 g·m −2 was reached. These results show Stevia's potential as a commercial crop for stevioside production in northern Spain.

A bioeconomy perspective for natural sweetener Stevia

“…In general, the higher the Reb A and ST glycoside content in the dried leaves, the higher is the price paid to farmers by the stevia processing companies. The optimum harvest date coincides with the bud‐flowering stage at the beginning of September …”

“…The optimum harvest date coincides with the bud-flowering stage at the beginning of September. 26 Numerous agricultural efforts aim to improve steviol glycosides in leaf tissues, preferably avoiding gene manipulation as consumers looking for natural products are interested in GMO-free stevia. From microwave-assisted extraction to rapid solid-liquid dynamic extraction, several new technologies for the recovery of phytochemicals from stevia's leaves have been investigated.…”

LC–MS metabolomics analysis of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni leaves cultivated in Malaysia in relation to different developmental stages

“…The metabolite profile of stevia cultivated in Malaysia, a country with a tropical rainforest climate, has yet to be reported. Climatic factors, especially daylength, may affect metabolite profiles of stevia, which has been reported as a short‐day species where its flowering was induced with a photoperiod of less than 12 hours 7 . Therefore, the metabolite profile of stevia cultivated in a climate different from other stevia cultivars, as reported in the literature, would be worthy of investigation.…”

“…These factors include the plant organ, geographical origin, growth stage, harvesting time, and extraction procedures. Previously, the dynamic changes of steviol glycosides during the growth cycle of stevia have been investigated 5–7 . However, these studies focused mainly on the changes of major steviol glycosides, namely stevioside and rebaudioside A.…”

Allometric models for non-destructive leaf area measurement of stevia: an in depth and complete analysis

“…Stevia plants contain steviol glycosides, that are ~300 times sweeter than sucrose at 0.4% (w/v) (Kinghorn & Soejarto, 1991). The incidences of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and obesity have increased globally (Guerrero et al, 2018). Consequently, the demand for non-caloric sweeteners has increased and sugar consumption has decreased (Putnik et al, 2020).…”