It is a natural herbal sweetener that is 250-300 times sweeter than sucrose (though with a bitter aftertaste), extracted from the Stevia rebaudiana plant native to South America. It has a role as a sweetening agent, an antioxidant, an antineoplastic agent, a hypoglycemic agent, an anti-inflammatory agent and a plant metabolite. It is a diterpene glycoside, an ent-kaurane diterpenoid, a beta-D-glucoside, a tetracyclic diterpenoid and a bridged compound. It is functionally related to a steviol and a rubusoside.

It is a natural herbal sweetener that is 250-300 times sweeter than sucrose (though with a bitter aftertaste), extracted from the Stevia rebaudiana plant native to South America. It has a role as a sweetening agent, an antioxidant, an antineoplastic agent, a hypoglycemic agent, an anti-inflammatory agent and a plant metabolite. It is a diterpene glycoside, an ent-kaurane diterpenoid, a beta-D-glucoside, a tetracyclic diterpenoid and a bridged compound. It is functionally related to a steviol and a rubusoside.