History of the Truvia™ Rebiana Research Program

Cargill, in partnership with The Coca-Cola Company, has developed rebiana as a natural, zero-calorie sweetening ingredient for use in food and beverages. Cargill commissioned a rigorous safety evaluation program for rebiana in consultation with regulatory authorities, leading scientists and respected research institutions. The results of the rebiana research program have addressed previously unresolved questions and established the safety of rebiana for general purpose use as a sweetener. This overview describes the rationale, design and results of the program.

Stevia, steviol glycosides and rebiana

To understand the context and purpose of the rebiana research program, it is important to understand the relationship between rebiana, stevia and various components of the stevia plant:

Stevia typically refers to a crude preparation (powder or liquid) made from the leaves of the stevia plant. Such preparations contain a mixture of many components, not just those that give a sweet taste to the leaf. Because the exact composition of the mixture is unknown, studies that have used "stevia" are often difficult to interpret.

Steviol glycosides are the sweet components of the stevia leaf. There are various kinds of steviol glycosides, but the two most abundant types are stevioside and rebaudioside A.

Stevioside is the most abundant steviol glycoside in the stevia leaf. It has been studied extensively.

Rebaudioside A is the best-tasting steviol glycoside. It is broken down by the body into the same basic parts as stevioside.

Rebiana is a 97% pure extract of rebaudioside A. Truvia™ rebiana is the first high-purity, well-characterized form of rebaudioside A that is produced consistently to a food grade specification.

Steviol is the substance produced when the body breaks down steviol glycosides in the colon.

Previous research

Stevia and its components have been evaluated in a range of studies over the past five decades. The studies have varied widely in purpose, design and quality, and have yielded an inconsistent profile for stevia and steviol glycosides:

Many smaller studies used a crude extract of stevia - an undefined mixture of many components - making it difficult to attribute the results to any one substance within the leaf.

Others injected steviol glycosides into animals or fed animals very large amounts of steviol - neither of which is relevant for people eating or drinking a highly purified steviol glycoside like rebiana.

Several attempts have been made in the past to petition the FDA for approval of stevia as a food additive. However, the petitioners could not provide sufficient data to the FDA to address key questions about the composition, quality and safety of stevia.

Objectives of the rebiana research program

Cargill enlisted leading scientists to design and conduct a rigorous safety evaluation program for rebiana - the first such program to test a well-characterized, high-purity form of rebaudioside A.

Prior to this program, safety data on rebaudioside A was limited to several smaller metabolism and safety studies. However, stevioside had been evaluated extensively. Since rebaudioside A is broken down into the same basic parts in the body as stevioside, data from studies of purified stevioside are directly applicable in the safety assessment of rebiana.

The objectives of the rebiana safety program were to:

1. Ensure the safety of rebiana for general purpose use as a sweetener
2. Ensure that data on stevioside are relevant to rebaudioside A
3. Resolve questions raised by previous studies or regulatory authorities

Results support the safety of rebiana

The outcomes of the rebiana scientific evaluation program confirmed the safety findings of earlier studies (of purified rebaudioside A and stevioside) while addressing unresolved questions and gaps in the database. The results will help fulfill regulatory requirements and bring rebiana to consumers in the United States and around the world.