Production of steviosides in ex vitro and in vitro grown Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni

Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni plants grown in vitro and ex vitro were investigated for variations in the profile of steviosides in their leaves, shoots, roots and flowers. Steviosides were extracted by hydrolysis and esterification, evaporated to dryness and dissolved in methanol for quantitative analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The HPLC analysis and separation profiles indicated the presence of several different steviosides, predominantly eight known sweet diterpene glycosides. The most abundant compounds identified were steviolbioside, stevioside, rebaudiosides C and A and dulcoside A. The highest stevioside contents were recorded in 1-month-old greenhouse leaves (64.80 g steviolbioside kg(-1) dried plant material) and in vitro leaves (0.99 g rebaudioside A kg(-1) dried plant material). The recovery of steviosides from the leaves by methanol extraction was 90%. This is the first time that the eight predominant sweet diterpene glycosides in the various plant parts of S. rebaudiana have been investigated. (c) 2006 Society of Chemical Industry