Development of diet cereal bar sweetened with stevia leaves pre-treated with ethanol
The Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) is plant of the Asteraceae family, which presents in its leaves, stems and flowers, the steviol glycosides with sweetness power ranging between 300 and 450 times greater than sucrose, acting at the limit of the sweet taste perception (Lemus-Mondaca et al., 2012). Among the glycosides of steviol, the most prominents are the rebaudiosides A and C, and also the stevioside, the latter being classified according to its sweet sensorial profile (Wölwer-Rieck, 2012). The stevioside present in the stevia leaf has as characteristic a residual bitter taste in its composition, limiting its use in the food industry, as well as the presence of other phytochemical compounds (Formigoni et al., 2018).