"after oral administration of stevia mixture, the steviol concentration
in plasma increased steadily over 8 h, suggesting that stevia mixture
components are first degraded and then absorbed as steviol in the rat
intestine. Steviol metabolism in humans and rats was examined by
incubating steviol with liver microsomes from the two
species. Oxidative (monohydroxy and dihydroxy) metabolites of steviol
were observed by LC-ESI/MS after incubation with both human and rat
liver microsomes. The intrinsic clearance of steviol in human liver
microsomes was 4-times LOWER than that found in rat liver microsomes. In
conclusion, this study suggests that there are no major species
differences in steviol hepatic metabolism between rats and humans.
Absorption from the human intestine can be predicted to occur in an
analogous manner to that from the rat intestine."

וגם זו שלקוחה מ(2)

"Degradation was examined by incubating stevia mixture, [related
compounds], and the aglycone, steviol with pooled human faecal
homogenates (obtained from five healthy volunteers) for 0, 8 and 24 h
under anaerobic conditions. Stevia mixture, enzymatically modified
stevia, stevioside and rebaudioside A (0.2 mg/ml) were completely
eliminated within 24 h, whereas no degradation of steviol (0.08 and 0.2
mg/ml) appeared to be found during the incubation period. Stevia
mixture, stevioside and rebaudioside A appeared to be hydrolyzed to
steviol by human intestinal microflora: this observation is consistent
with previous rat metabolism studies. "

גם ה FDA וגם האיחוד האירופאי מצביעים על בעיות בריאותיות פוטנציאליות (שבהחלט מגובות במחקרים) בקשר לשימוש בסטיביה, בעוד שאין הם עושים זאת לגבי אספרטיים.

1: Absorption and metabolism of glycosidic sweeteners of stevia mixture
and their
aglycone, steviol, in rats and humans.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2003 Jun;41(6):875-83.
PMID: 12738193 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

2: Koyama E, Kitazawa K, Ohori Y, Izawa O, Kakegawa K, Fujino A, Ui M.
In vitro metabolism of the glycosidic sweeteners, stevia mixture and
enzymatically modified stevia in human intestinal microflora.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2003 Mar;41(3):359-74.
PMID: 12504168 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

פורסם במקור על ידי NIRAN Stevia, which is about 100 times sweeter than sugar, is obtained from a shrub (yerba dulce) that grow in Brazil and Paraguay. The name of the actual sweet chemical is stevioside. The health-food industry advocates stevia extract as a safe alternative to synthetic sweeteners, like saccharin, aspartame, and sucralose. It is said to be widely used in Japan and several other countries. However, just because a substance is natural, does not mean that it is safe. The U.S. FDA has rejected stevia (or stevioside) for use as a food additive. Likewise, Canada has not approved stevia, and a European Community scientific panel declared that stevia is unacceptable for use in food. Studies found that high dosages fed to rats caused reduced sperm production and an increase in cell proliferation in their testicles, which could cause infertility or other problems. When pregnant hamsters were fed large amounts of a derivative of stevioside called steviol, they had fewer and smaller offspring. In the laboratory, steviol can be converted into a mutagenic compound, which may promote cancer by causing mutations in the cells� genetic material (DNA). In addition, very large amounts of stevioside can interfere with the absorption of carbohydrates in animals and disrupt the conversion of food into energy within cells. In sum, small amounts of stevia are probably safe, but it is inappropriate to endorse wide use of this sweetener. פחות או יותר מה שאמרת... דרך אגב מוכרים בארץ סוכרלוז? חיפשתי ולא מצאתי ראיתי רק את כל השטויות האחרות שיש בסופרים.