As you know, the dried extract of stevia, which is actually the leaf of the main plant, is widely used in the food industry as a healthy substitute for sugar. Stevia extract has unique values like greater sweetness than sugar and low calorie, which is why it finds wide usage than others. It is also said that stevia is responsible for blocking the HRV or Human retroviruses in the body, which has been experimented by scientists for a long time. In this article, we discuss the results which show the antiviral activity of dried stevia extracts.
The Experiment:
The dried and purified extract of the sugar fighter stevia was assessed by using a new method in order to prove its antiviral qualities. It was performed by using the RNA contained Teschen disease virus and the DNA infused infectious rhinotracheitis virus.
The study was initially performed on a model of the kidney of a transformed green monkey. There was a need to test the virustatic and virucidal actions of dried stevia extracts. The action was practiced thrice on the monolayer culture of the Vero cell, i.e. the cell of the kidney. The incubation was done at a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius in an environment where 5% CO2 was made by using 96-well plates.
Through the help of a standard method, The antiviral qualities of the dried stevia leaves were assessed. After 72 hours of incubation, the ability for the prevention of the cytopathic effect of the substance on the virus on the cells was observed. Cell culture infected with the virus at the experimental dose was controlled without the addition of the test substance (or dried extracts of stevia leaves). A maintenance medium enabled the supplementation of the intact cell culture.
Virustatic actions on the cell were determined by infection of the Vero Cells (or Kidney cells) with virus infused material at an infection multiplicity f 0.0001 to 0.001 TCD50/Cell. The virucidal or inactivating capacity of the solution was analyzed by mixing doses of 5.0 to 5000.0 ug/ml, with an equal volume of virus infused material, and kept incubated for 18 to 20 hours at a temperature of 37 degree Celsius.
What Came As Result?
The studies showed these results. It was seen that the dried and purified extract of stevia at a dose of 2000 ug/ml inhibits the reproduction of the Teschen disease virus. This virus increases by 0.5 Ig TCD50. There is an increase of 0.25 Ig TCD50 for the IRT virus. The result shows that it increases by 0.33 lg TCD50 for coronavirus. The dose was increased t0 4000 ug/ml.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, it can be safely said that the most commonly used antiviral agent named rimantadine is known to have high virustatic action but has no virucidal activity, so it cannot suppress viruses in an intercellular space or in any kind of blood vessels. The demonstration of dried and purified extracts of stevia, which was known as ‘Sugar Fighter Stevia’, has actually made the researchers more interested to investigate the substance as a potential medical agent.
