Tribulus terrestris (Tribulus terrestris L. In Latin) is a flowering plant in the family Zygophyllaceae, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Old World in southern Europe, southern Asia, throughout Africa, and in northern Australia. It can thrive even in desert climates and poor soil. Like many weedy species, this plant has many common names. Puncturevine, Caltrop, Yellow Vine, and Goathead are the most widely used.
Saponins are a class of chemical compounds, one of many secondary metabolites found in natural sources, with saponins foundin particular abundance in various plant species. More specifically, they areamphipathic glycosides grouped, in terms of phenomenology, by the soap-likefoaming they produce when shaken in aqueous solutions, and, in terms ofstructure, by their composition of one or more hydrophilic glycoside moietiescombined with a lipophilic triterpene derivative.
Stevia Rebaudiana is used as herbal sweetener by Paraguay people for over 1500 years. The sweetness in Stevia Rebaudiana is mainly attributed to two glycoside compounds: Stevioside (3-10% of dry leaf weight) and rebaudioside A (1-3%) which can be up to 250 times sweeter than sucrose. Stevia' S greatest appears to be a natural alternative to artificial sweeteners (such as aspartame or sodium saccharin). Stevioside is white or light yellow powder or crystalline in normal room temperature. It has pure sweetness, no odor and its taste is similar to sucrose but its aftertaste lasts longer than sucrose. It contains only one third calorie of sucrose. It is non alcoholic solution, low toxicity and wide range of application. It is called the third natural sugar source after cane sugar and beet sugar. Stevioside in the human body does not participate in the physiological, biochemical reaction, but also has a certain degree of inhibition of bacterial and antiseptic effect, good security.
