STEVIOL GLYCOSIDE COMPOSITIONS

Abstract

Steviol glycoside compositions having improved sweetness and flavor profiles are described.

Claims

1. A steviol glycoside sweetener composition comprising minor steviol glycosides, wherein the minor steviol glycosides comprise Rebaudioside Q and Rebaudioside R.

2. (canceled)

3. (canceled)

4. The steviol glycoside composition of claim 1, wherein at least one minor steviol glycoside is glycosylated.

5. A method for improving the sweetness profile of a stevia sweetener, comprising providing minor steviol glycosides in the stevia sweetener.

6. The composition of claim 1, wherein the minor steviol glycosides provide astringency, acidity, off-note, bitter aftertaste, and sweet aftertaste taste attributes that are more similar to a sugar solution than a comparative blend of rebaudioside D and rebaudioside M.

7. The composition of claim 4, wherein the glycosylated steviol glycoside provides reduced bitterness, astringency, off-note, and bitter aftertaste taste attributes as compared to a comparative composition of rebaudioside A.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 shows the generic structure of steviol glycosides.

[0014] FIG. 2a shows the structure of Rebaudioside N. FIG. 2b shows the structure of Rebaudioside O.

[0015] FIG. 3a is a bar graph showing the results of a taste panel. The first bars represent the results from tasting a highly purified (at least 97% pure) Rebaudioside A composition in acidified water. The second bars represent the results from tasting a fructosylated Rebaudioside A composition in acidified water.

[0016] FIG. 3b is a bar graph showing the results of a taste panel. The first bars represent the results from tasting a diet lemon-lime carbonated soft drink including a highly purified Reb M/Reb D blend, wherein the blend includes 50% Reb M and 50% Reb D by weight. The second bars represent the results from tasting a diet lemon-lime carbonated soft drink including a fructosylated Rebaudioside A composition.

[0017] FIG. 4a is a bar graph showing the results of a taste panel. The first bars represent the results from tasting a highly purified (at least 97% pure) Rebaudioside A composition in acidified water. The second bars represent the results from tasting a glycosylated minor steviol glycoside composition in acidified water, wherein the glycosylated minor steviol glycoside composition contains 19% glycosylated Reb Q by weight and 18% glycosylated Reb R by weight.

[0018] FIG. 4b is a bar graph showing the results of a taste panel. The first bars represent the results from tasting a diet lemon-lime carbonated soft drink including a highly purified Reb M/Reb D blend, wherein the blend includes 50% Reb M and 50% Reb D by weight. The second bars represent the results from tasting a diet lemon-lime carbonated soft drink including a glycosylated minor steviol glycoside composition in acidified water, wherein the glycosylated minor steviol glycoside composition contains 19% glycosylated Reb Q by weight and 18% glycosylated Reb R by weight.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Steviol glycoside compositions including minor glycosides (SG compositions), such as Rebaudioside N and Rebaudioside O, were found to have a positive impact on the sweetness profile of stevia sweeteners. An exemplary steviol glycoside composition is described in Table 2.

TABLE-US-00002 Steviol Glycoside Composition (SG Composition) Molecules Structure Steviol Glycoside Composition Reb D SvG5 63.95 Reb M SvG6 25.37 Reb N SvR1G5 2.95 Reb O SvR1G6 1.37 Reb A SvG4 1.32 Reb E SvG4 0.86 Reb B SvG3 0.22 Stevioside SvG3 0.03 Reb C SvR1G3 0.01 Reb F SvX1G3 0 Dulcoside A SvR1G2 0 Rubusoside SvG2 0 Steviolbioside SvG2 0 Total Steviol Glycosides 96.07

Comparison of Reb D/Reb M Blends to Steviol Glycoside Compositions

Example 1: Acidified Water - 5 Brix Target

[0020] 15 panelists tested the sample solutions, as summarized in Table 3:

TABLE-US-00003 Acidified water 5 brix target - SG Composition vs Reb D and Reb M blends Summary of Mean-Scores, P-Values, and Significance Attribute 5% Sugar 200 ppm of SG Composition 200 ppm of 70/30 Reb D/Reb M blend P-Value Sig Sweetness 4.91 4.86 4.98 0.0997 Bitterness b 0.75 ab 0.98 a 1.23 0.0083 *** Astringency b 0.84 b 1.02 a 1.77 0.0035 *** Acidity c 0.99 b 1.41 a 1.99 0.0012 *** Off-Note (Metallic/ Licorice) b 0.52 b 0.61 a 1.13 0.0081 *** Sweet Aftertaste c 0.56 b 0.99 a 1.38 0.0046 *** Bitter Aftertaste 0.33 0.37 0.53 0.5487 NS Overall Liking a 4.96 b 4.53 b 4.46 0.1964 * *= 80% confidence interval, **= 90% Confidence interval, ***=95% Confidence interval

[0021] As can be seen, the steviol glycoside composition (SG composition) has many attributes that are more similar to a 5% sugar solution than a Reb D/Reb M blend, and the overall liking is greater than the Reb D/Reb M blend. Steviol glycoside compositions with minor glycosides and a 70/30 Reb D/M blend were parity in sweetness. The Reb D/Reb M 70/30 blend had significantly higher astringency, acidity, off-notes, and sweet aftertaste compared to the SG composition. The two samples have significantly different flavor profiles.

Example 2: Acidified Water - 10 Brix Target

[0022] The same test was done as in Example 1, but with a 10 Brix target. 13 panelists tested the solutions, as summarized in Table 4.

TABLE-US-00004 Acidified water 10 brix target - SG Composition vs Reb D and Reb M blends Summary of Mean-Scores, P-Values, and Significance Attribute 10% Sugar 900 ppm of SG Composition 900 ppm of 70/30 Reb D/Reb M P-Value Sig Sweetness 8.45 8.62 8.45 0.8794 NS Bitterness b 0.55 a 2.18 a 1.72 0.0147 *** Astringency b 0.92 a 1.55 a 1.71 0.0762 ** Acidity b 1.08 a 1.56 a 1.61 0.0508 ** Off-Note (Metallic/ Licorice) b 0.51 a 1.11 a 1.34 0.0028 *** Sweet Aftertaste c 1.08 b 1.75 a 2.25 0.0029 *** Bitter Aftertaste b 0.37 a 0.62 a 0.82 0.0464 *** Overall Liking a 6.34 b 4.6 b 4.65 0.0091 *** *= 80% confidence interval, **= 90% Confidence interval, ***=95% Confidence interval

[0023] In this test, the steviol glycoside composition and the Reb D/Reb M blend were parity in sweetness. The 70/30 blend also had significantly higher sweet aftertaste compared to the steviol glycoside composition.

[0024] While not intending to be bound by theory, it is believed that Rebaudioside N and Rebaudioside O, while present in minor amounts in the steviol glycoside composition, have a favorable impact on the flavor and sweetness profile of the steviol glycoside composition, particularly at the 5 Brix target level. The structures of Rebaudioside N and Rebaudioside O are shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b. However, certain advantages were observed even at the 10 Brix target, making these minor steviol glycosides relevant in the improvement of sweetness profiles.

Example 3: Fructosylated Steviol Glycosides

[0025] It was discovered that adding one or more fructose molecules to rebaudioside A provides flavor and sweetness profile advantages. It is believed that fructosylation of rebaudioside A or other steviol glycosides, including minor steviol glycosides, can provide characteristics that are similar to or even better than highly purified steviol glycosides. Rebaudioside A was subjected to a glycosylation process to add fructose to the G1 and G2 positions, and compared to a highly purified rebaudioside A composition in acidified water, and a highly purified Reb M/Reb D blend in a diet lemon-lime carbonated soft drink. The results from a trained test panel are shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b.

Example 4: Glycosylated Minor Steviol Glycosides

[0026] It was discovered that in addition to their favorable impact on the flavor and sweetness profiles of steviol glycoside compositions, the impact of minor glycosides can be improved when they are glycosylated. Glycosylated steviol glycosides (GSG) have one or more glycoside moieties attached to the steviol glycoside backbone, and have been found to have a favorable impact on attributes such as bitterness, sweetness aftertaste, etc. on steviol glycoside compositions. Glycosylated minor steviol glycosides can improve the flavor and sweetness profiles of steviol glycoside compositions to be similar to or even surpass the flavor and sweetness profiles of highly purified steviol glycosides, thereby providing an efficient and effective alternative to highly purified steviol glycosides.

[0027] The glycoside moiety can be any monosaccharide, disaccharide, or oligosaccharide, such as glucose, fructose, rhamnose, xylose, and the like. The glycoside moiety can be a single molecule, or can be a chain of molecules, for example, 2, 3 or 4 glucose units attached to the steviol glycoside. The glycosylation process typically results in the glycoside moiety attaching to the C-13 or C-19 position on the steviol glycoside.

[0028] In one embodiment, a rebaudioside A and minor steviol glycoside composition was glycosylated. The minor steviol glycoside content included glycosylated rebaudioside Q at about 19% by weight, and glycosylated rebaudioside R at about 18% by weight.

[0029] Acidified water and diet lemon-lime carbonated soft drink samples containing various amounts of glycosylated minor steviol glycoside composition were tested by a trained panel, and the results are shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b. As can be seen, the glycosylated minor steviol glycoside-containing composition performed nearly the same as, and in some cases better than, highly purified steviol glycoside compositions (Reb A and Reb M/Reb D) across a number of sweetness and flavor attributes.

[0030] It is to be understood that the foregoing descriptions and specific embodiments shown herein are merely illustrative of the best mode of the invention and the principles thereof, and that modifications and additions may be easily made by those skilled in the art without departing for the spirit and scope of the invention, which is therefore understood to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.