TITLE:
Steviol Glycoside Content Dynamics during the Growth Cycle of Stevia rebaudiana Bert
AUTHORS:
Ana Belen Guerrero, Leticia San Emeterio, Itziar Domeño, Ignacio Irigoyen, Julio Muro
KEYWORDS:
Stevia rebaudiana Bert., Crop, Stevioside, Rebaudioside A, Photoperiod
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.9 No.4,
March
29,
2018
ABSTRACT: The sweetener compounds in Stevia, steviol
glycosides (SG), are mainly found in the leaves. The SG content depends on the
plant’s growth stage and is usually highest just before flowering. In temperate
areas, Stevia is a polyannual crop (5 - 7 years)
with a vegetative period lasting from April-May until October, during which time the crop can be
harvested two or three times. This
research focuses on the need for knowledge about Stevia’s response to temperate
climates in Southern Europe. Two field assays were established from June to
October 2013 at two sites in Navarra (Spain). The biomass and content of the
two major SG, stevioside (ST) and rebaudioside A (RA), were measured using High
Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) in 66 cloned plants, at different
developmental stages. Although the results from the two sites showed different
SG leaf content dynamics during the plant growth, the optimum harvest date at
both sites coincided with the bud-flowering stage at the beginning of September
(around 96 days after planting), when a ST yield of 27 g·m-2 was reached. These results show Stevia’s potential
as a commercial crop for stevioside production in northern Spain.