Stevioside vs Rebaudioside A: what is the difference?
Stevioside and rebaudioside A are steviol glycosides from the same leaf, one sugar unit apart, and rebaudioside A lacks stevioside's liquorice bitterness.
Sources and notes
- The sentence under the titlefrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notesThe pair's answer line.
- The two drawingscomputedMoleculeFinder rule (RDKit MCS)Drawn the same way round on the skeleton they share. Aligned; 11 atoms differ, too many to mark as one group.
- Structural similaritycomputedRDKit Morgan/Tanimoto0.93 of 1, a Morgan fingerprint Tanimoto coefficient. It measures shape, not effect.
Side by side
| Stevioside | Rebaudioside A | |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular weightCalculated PubChem | 804.9 g/molC38H60O18 | 967 g/molC44H70O23 |
| Hydrogen-bond donorsCalculated PubChem | 11 | 14 |
| SweetnessMeasured MeSH; FDA | 300× sugar | 300× sugar |
| Against table sugar, which is 1. | ||
| Where each turns upEditorial MoleculeFinder food and product lists |
|
|
| FamilyEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Glycosides | Glycosides |
| Everyday groupEditorial MoleculeFinder curated | Sweetener | Sweetener |
| Chemical groupsCalculated Found by rule (RDKit) | Alcohols, Esters, Ethers | Alcohols, Esters, Ethers |
| Hazard labelReported ECHA via PubChem | Warning | Not recorded |
| The supplier-filed hazard label's signal word, not a statement about ordinary use. | ||
Sources and notes
- Molecular weightcomputedPubChemComputed from the structure; the formula is under each weight.
- Hydrogen-bond donorscomputedPubChemThe hydrogens on nitrogen or oxygen that each molecule can lend to a hydrogen bond, counted from its structure.
- Sweetnessfrom sourceMeSH; FDA
- Where each turns upfrom sourceMoleculeFinder food and product listsEach amount is an editorial figure from our lists, not a measurement of any one product. Each mark is set by hand on the list, never inferred.
- Familyfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Everyday groupfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Chemical groupscomputedFound by rule (RDKit)Each group is found in the structure by a chemical pattern.
- Hazard labelfrom sourceECHA via PubChem
- ECHAfrom sourceAttributionSource: European Chemicals Agency, echa.europa.eu.
- Identifiersfrom sourcePubChemPubChem CID 442089 (Stevioside) and 6918840 (Rebaudioside A).
In more detail
That extra sugar unit is why rebaudioside A is the heavier molecule at 967.0 against 804.9. Both are steviol glycosides: the same steviol core with different sugars hung off it. Stevioside is the more abundant compound in the raw leaf and around 300 times as sweet as sugar, but it carries a liquorice bitterness in the finish. Rebaudioside A is the cleaner tasting of the two and as sweet, near 300 times sugar, which is why stevia sweeteners are often purified toward it. Reading a stevia label as one ingredient hides this: the taste depends almost entirely on the ratio between these two.
Sources and notes
- The paragraphfrom sourceMoleculeFinder comparison notes
Questions
- What is the difference between Stevioside and Rebaudioside A?
- Stevioside and rebaudioside A are steviol glycosides from the same leaf, one sugar unit apart, and rebaudioside A lacks stevioside's liquorice bitterness.
- Is Stevioside bigger than Rebaudioside A?
- Rebaudioside A is the heavier molecule, 967 g/mol against 804.9 g/mol for Stevioside. Stevioside is C38H60O18 and Rebaudioside A is C44H70O23.
- Is Stevioside sweeter than Rebaudioside A?
- They rate the same, about 300 times as sweet as table sugar each. Sweetness here is measured against sucrose, which is defined as 1.
Sources and notes
- The answersfrom sourceMoleculeFinderThe first is the pair's answer line; the others are read off the table above.