Stevia rebaudiana Bitkisinin Tatlandırıcı, Antioksidan ve Antimikrobiyal Özellikleri.

Stevia rebaudiana, also known as sugar grass, has been used by millions of people for years because of its sweetening and therapeutic properties. In a number of studies conducted, researchers also reported various properties of stevia plant which can be used in food industry. Stevia rebaudiana leaves contain all nutrients at different concentrations but steviol glycosides, that give 100 to 300 times the sweetness of sucrose, are the most important compounds in this plant. It is also stated that there are flavonoids and phenolic compounds that give antimicrobial and antioxidant properties to food in stevia leaves. This shows that stevia can be used for different purposes as well as a sweetener. The purpose of this study was to review the sweetener, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of Stevia rebaudiana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]