Method Development for Extraction and Quantification of Glycosides in Leaves of Stevia Rebaudiana

A solid-liquid extraction and an UHPLC method for determination of glycosides from the leave parts of Stevia rebaudiana were developed. Steviol glycosides found in the leaves of Stevia are natural sweetener and commercially sold as sugar substitutes. Extraction of the glycosides consisted of solvent extraction of leaf powder using various solvents followed by its concentration using rotary evaporator and analysis using Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC). Existing analytical methods are mainly focused on the quantification of either rebaudioside A or stevioside, whereas other glycosides, such as rebaudioside B and rebaudioside D present in the leaves also contribute to sweetness or its biological activity. Therefore, we developed an improved method by changing the UHPLC conditions to enable a rapid and reliable determination of four steviol glycosides rather than just two using an isocratic UHPLC method. (author)