Wenbiao Wu (Editor)
College of Food Science, Southwest University, No.2 Tian Shengqiao, Beibei, Chongqing, PRC

Series: Food and Beverage Consumption and Health
BISAC: HEA048000

This book is intended for use as reference literature suitable for scientists, teachers, students, and others who are interested in leaf sweeteners that are currently employed in food and beverage industries. All chapters in this book have been written by scientists from related disciplines with a wide range of backgrounds. It is considered that the widest possible interaction of viewpoints and expertise is necessary for transcending the present state of leaf sweeteners as expeditiously as possible. Some overlaps of information in some chapters provided by different authors are allowed in this book, the purpose of which is to prove the precision of viewpoints or results of each other.

It is believed that a human being is normally born to like sweets. Unfortunately, traditional calorie-containing sugars are unhealthy because they may cause obesity, diabetes and dental caries. For this reason, there is a great increase in the demand for new alternative “low calorie” or “non-calorie” sweeteners for dietetic and diabetic needs worldwide.

This book has collected information about sweeteners from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, Rubus suavissimus S. Lee and Lithocarpus polystachyus Rehd. The sweet components in the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni are proven mainly to be steviol glycosides (including steviosides and rebaudiosides). The sweet components in the leaves of Rubus suavissimus S. Lee are rubusosides. The sweet components in the leaves of Lithocarpus polystachyus Rehd are dihydrochalcone glycosides.

The dried leaves of Rubus suavissimus S. Lee and Lithocarpus polystachyus Rehd are currently employed as herbal teas in China. The leaves of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni are usually employed as raw materials of producing purified steviol glycosides that can be used as a tabletop sugar. The sweet components from these three kinds of leaves are 300 times sweeter than sucrose. They are proven to be safe for consumption if their intake is proper and approved by relative authorities in the world. These sweet components are also reported to have beneficial effects on health. There are also essential nutrients and other functional components in these leaves.

In the preparation of this book, at least one of authors invited is an expert who has devoted much time to the study of the topic that is concerned. For the purpose of encouraging a free academic exchange atmosphere, the context of each chapter presented in this book is exactly the same as that which was submitted by its authors. The style of references is allowed to vary from one chapter to another, but it is uniform in each chapter. The authors of each chapter are responsible for ensuring its originality and avoiding academic misconduct. (Imprint: Nova)