The Pharmacognosy and Medicinal Plants Department at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Basrah organized a discussion panel (Important information you should know about the sweetener Stevia).
The aim of the lecture, which was delivered by Assistant Professor Yasar Abdul Hussein, was to introduce the stevia plant and the most important sweet-tasting chalacosidic compounds found in the leaves of this plant, their medicinal benefits, in addition to their commercial uses and methods of extracting them from the plant, and to introduce the latest research to increase the production of these compounds.
The lecture addressed questions about whether there are side effects from its use, especially for diabetics, and finally, what are the safe types and unsafe commercial types of this product.
Stevia is considered a calorie-free sweetener recently used as an alternative to table sugar. This results in many questions being raised about artificial sweeteners and alternatives to table sugar, especially for people with diabetes and obesity, and among these sweeteners is stevia.