History of Stevia

The plant Stevia has been used for more than 1,500 years by the Guarani peoples of South America, who called it ka’a he’ê  “sweet herb”. The leaves have been used traditionally for hundreds of years in both Brazil and Paraguay to sweeten local teas and medicines as a “sweet treat”.

In 1899, Swiss botanist Moises Santiago Bertoni,  while conducting research in eastern Paraguay, first described the plant and the sweet taste in detail. Only limited research was conducted on the topic until in 1931 two French chemists isolated the glycosides that give stevia its sweet taste.