DESCRIPTION

Field of Invention

The invention relates to low calorie sweetener composition. Low calorie sweetener is one which provides less than 10 calories (kcal), preferably less than 5 calories (kcal). Low calorie sweetener composition of present invention comprises of Stevia and at least one bulking agent. Bulking agent can be erythritol. Bulking agent can also be. mixture of lactose and erythritol. Ratio of Stevia and bulking agent is from about 1:10 to 1:100, more preferably from about 1:20 to 1:80. The sweetener composition can be provided in bulk or can be unit packed for example in sachet. The sweetener composition can be used as table top sweetener or can be used in manufacturing various food and beverages. The invention also relates to process of preparing sweetener composition comprising stevia and bulking agent in granulated form. The invention also relates to granulated sweetener composition prepared by use of specific process conditions imparting desired properties to the composition.

Background of the invention

Low calorie sweeteners are highly desired to control calories and blood sugar levels. Several attempts are made to prepare sweetener compositions incorporating several low calorie natural / artificial sweeteners, flavours, acidic agents and bulking agents. EP-2433505 discloses A natural beverage product comprising a non-nutritive sweetener comprising rebaudioside A, a sweetening amount of rebaudioside D, and at least one of tagatose and erythritol; and an acidulant comprising lactic acid, tartaric acid and citric acid WO-2012031879 discloses a composition for sweetening an edible product, comprising at least a rebaudioside, characterized in that it further comprises predetermined and controlled amount of gymnemic acid wherein gymnemic acid diminishes strong lingering sweet aftertaste of rebaudioside.

US-7815956- disclose a reduced calorie beverage comprising (a) a non-nutritive sweetener such as Stevia extract or Rebaudioside A (b) Erythritol and (c) D-tagalose in specified proportion.

WO-2010042093 covers a composition having first sweetener erythritol which is
melted and to which is added a second sweetener. Second sweetener is mostly
turbinado sugar but it can be stevia.

US-20090304891 discloses a D-psicose-containing sweetener with the modification of the taste of D-psicose, comprising D-psicose, a sugar alcohol and/or a high intensity sweetener. Few formulations contain stevia and erythritol added separately along with other ingredients in the ratio of 1:250 EP-2129239 discloses a low calorie sweetener composition comprising: (a) about 5 wt.% to about 40 wt.% erythritol; (b) 0 wt.% to about 30 wt.% sorbitol; (c) 0 wt.% to about 50 wt.% isomalt, maltitol, or a mixture thereof; (d) about 5 wt.% to about 40 wt.% resistant starch; and (e) about 5 wt.% to about 40 wt.% polydextrose and further a high intensity sweetener such as Stevia where such high intensity sweetener is less than 0.4 weight %.

EP2124646 discloses diet cola having combination of Rebaudioside A and Erythritol as sweeteners along with at least two carboxylic acids. The process described in the patent is dissolving each ingredient and stirring vigorously in water to obtain liquid syrup.

WO2009137838 discloses a sweetener comprising a high intensity sweetener and a taste modifying composition and further bulking agent such as Erythritol.
EP2091358 discloses a functional sweetener composition comprising: at least one
functional ingredient selected from the group consisting of a rubisco protein, a
rubiscolin, a rubiscolin derivative, an ACE inhibitory peptide, and combinations
thereof; at least one high-potency sweetener(rebaudioside A); and at least one sweet taste improving composition (erythritol).

EP-2090180 - It discloses D-psicose-containing sweetener with the modification of the taste of D-psicose, comprising D-psicose, a sugar alcohol and/or a high intensity sweetener.

US-20090104326 - This discloses a solid sweetening composition having erythritol and a secondary sweetener in a single solid matrix, a method of making the solid
sweetening composition. In this Erythritol is melted and a second sweetener is added to melted Erythritol.

US20090004355 discloses a sweetening composition comprising erythritol and stevia in a weight ratio of between about 200:about 1 to about 2000:about 1. This
composition is prepared by dry blending stevia and erythritol sequentially, adding 2 drops of water just to make the mixture moist and further adding rest of the erythritol to make free flowing powder. This patent teaches that best ratio of Stevia extract containing 99 % of Rebaudioside A and Erythritol is from about 1:200 to 1:2000 when Erythritol is used as a bulking agent. Expert taste panellist also notes that dry blends of Stevia and Erythritol in ratio of 1:400 and 1:571 are extremely bitter to judge the taste, refer page 5, paragraph 56.

All above arts specifically note various problems associated with sweetener compositions. These include sweetness as compared to sucrose, bitterness and bitter aftertaste, undesired cooling effect or astringent action, very short duration or stay of sweetness and lack of quick onset of sweetness.

Some have made attempts to prepare compositions from Stevia extract having greater Rebaudioside A levels; however they couldn't effectively tackle several issues associated with such compositions.

Object of the Invention

One object of the present invention is to provide low calorie sweetener composition by using natural resources to avoid or minimize use of artificial sweetener without compromising taste, sweetness and user compliance.

Another object of the present invention is to provide low calorie sweetener prepared from stevia having high concentration of Rebaudioside A and Erythritol in best possible proportion and form to provide optimum sweetness equivalent to about from 0.5 teaspoon of sugar to about 3 teaspoons of sugar (around 2 g to around 12 g of sugar).

One more object of the present invention is to provide low calorie sweetener prepared from stevia having Rebaudioside A, erythritol and lactose in best possible proportion.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide low calorie sweetener composition having low or no bitter aftertaste, quick onset of sweetness, longer stay or duration of sweetness and without much cooling or astringent effect.

Still one more object of present invention is to optimize properties of sweetener composition by inventing best possible processes to give it desired form that have all desired properties of low calorie sweetener.

Summary of the invention

The present invention relates low calorie sweetener composition in granulated form comprising Stevia with greater than 90 % Rebaudioside A and bulking agent in the ratio from about 1:10 to about 1:100 prepared by granulating bulking agent with concentrated solution of Stevia powder. More preferably the ratio of stevia to bulking agent is from about 1:20 to about 1:80.

First aspect of invention relates to a low calorie sweetener composition comprising
Stevia powder containing Rebaudioside A greater than 90 % and Erythritol wherein the composition is in granulated form and ratio of Stevia and Erythritol is from about 1:10 to about 1:100, preferably from about 1:20 to about 1:80. Second aspects of invention relates to a low calorie sweetener composition comprising stevia powder containing Rebaudioside A, and diluent wherein diluent is made up of mixture of erythritol and lactose in specific proportion. Ratio of Stevia to bulking agent, comprising erythritol and lactose, is from 1:20 to 1:80. The ratio of erythritol and lactose in bulking agent is from about 6:4 to about 4:6.

Third aspect of the invention relates to a low calorie sweetener composition comprising of Stevia and Erythritol wherein the said composition is in the form of granules prepared by using solution of Stevia.

Forth aspect of the invention relates to a low calorie sweetener composition comprising stevia, erythritol and lactose wherein the said composition is in the form of granules prepared by using solution of Stevia.

Fifth aspect of invention relates to Sachet containing granulated composition of
Stevia and Erythritol or granulated composition of Stevia and Erythritol and lactose providing the same sweetness as that of from about 0.5 tsp to about 3 tsp of Sugar.

Sixth aspect of invention relates to granule composition of Stevia and Erythritol or granule composition of stevia, erythritol and lactose having more than 30 % of particle above 0.5 mm. Seventh aspect of invention relates to process of preparing sweetener composition comprising Stevia having greater than 90 % Rebaudioside A and Erythritol involving following steps

1) Dissolving stevia powder having greater than 90 % Rebaudioside A in water if required by stirring,
2) Concentrating the solution at temperature of greater than 80°C to about 25 % to about 50 % of original volume,
3) Granulating Erythritol with concentrated solution of Stevia powder in water at a temperature below 80°C,
4) Processing wet mass obtained in step 3 to produce granules.

Eighth aspect of invention relates to process of preparing sweetener composition comprising Stevia having greater than 90 % Rebaudioside A, Erythritol and lactose involving following steps

1) Dissolving stevia powder having greater than 90 % Rebaudioside A in water if required by stirring,
2) Concentrating the solution at temperature of greater than 80°C to about 25 % to about 50 % of original volume,
3) Mixing erythritol and lactose to prepare blend,
4) Granulating blend of Erythritol and lactose with concentrated solution of Stevia powder at a temperature below 80°C,
5) Processing wet mass obtained in step 4 to produce granules.
Ninth aspect of invention relates to low calorie sweetener composition of Stevia with no bitter aftertaste produced by concentrating stevia solution by heating above 80°C and granulating bulking agent with concentrated stevia solution.

Detailed description of the invention

Low calorie sweetener compositions are highly desirables for those who cannot take high calorie sweeteners due to medical conditions. Consumption of sugars leads to increase in insulin level and conversion of excess into fat and subsequently fat storage. Some others who are on low calorie diet also desire to switch to low calorie sweeteners. Low calorie sweeteners do not lead to ups and down in sugar level normally associated with processed sugars. Low calorie sweeteners are thereby preferred by many. Low calorie artificial sweeteners have several side effects. Natural low calorie sweeteners are best alternatives to artificial low calorie sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose. Still for many years some natural sweeteners like those procured from stevia plant could not make their entry to the market due to low compliance because of bitter aftertaste. Stevia leaf is reported to have stevioside, Rebaudioside A, Rebaudioside C, steviol glycosides and Dulcoside. Apart from bitter aftertaste, other undesirable effects include undesired astringent properties. Amongst all stevia contents, Rebaudioside A is reported to be sweetest, less astringent and with least bitter aftertaste.

Dubois and Stephanson demonstrated that the bitter notes in stevioside and rebaudioside A are an inherent property of the compounds and not necessarily the result of impurities in whole-plant extracts. (DuBois, G. E. and Stephenson, R. A. 1984.Diterpenoid sweeteners. Synthesis and sensory evaluation of stevioside analogues with improved organoleptic properties. J. Med. Chem. 28: 93-98.Fors, A. 1995. A new character in the sweetener scenario. Sugar J.58: 30.).

This means that however pure forms of these compounds are used, there would be still bitter taste and aftertaste associated with these compounds. Rebaudioside A is reported to be sweetest amongst all however its bitter taste and aftertaste does not permit it to be used in high concentration. Hence preparing natural low calorie sweetener from stevia having major Rebaudioside A content without bitter aftertaste is the real need of time.

Therefore we had various challenges as follows to prepare stevia compositions.

1. Stevia should have high amount of Rebaudioside A which is sweetest amongst all stevia contents.

2. Though Rebaudioside A is reported as approximately 150 - 320 times sweeter than sucrose, its onset of sweetness is very slow. This means the immediate sweetness provided by sugar and latent sweetness provided by Rebaudioside A has to be matched.

3. Duration of sweetness of Stevia or Rebaudioside A is very short as compared to sugar.

4. Bitter aftertaste was biggest challenge
Hence, our development protocol was as follows:

Step 1 - Selecting Stevia with high amount of Rebaudioside

Step 2 - Selecting proper Stevia concentration that can impart equivalent sweetness of that of about 1 to about 2 teaspoons of sugar

Step 3 - Preparing various compositions and tasting the same by giving the compositions to taste panelists to arrive at compositions having

a. onset of sweetness equivalent to onset of sweetness of sugar.
b. duration of sweetness equivalent to duration of sweetness of sugar
c. no bitter aftertaste

Step 4 – Optimization

Step 1 - Selecting Stevia with high amount of Rebaudioside

We procured stevia containing greater than 90 % Rebaudioside A, preferably containing around 97 % Rebaudioside A. Rebaudioside A is approximately 150 -0 320 times sweeter than sugar.

Step 2 - Selecting proper Stevia concentration
One teaspoon contains around 4-5 gms of sugar.
http://www.convertunits.com/from/teaspoons/to/grams

To calculate amount of stevia needed per unit serving, we considered that our stevia with greater than 90 % Rebaudioside A, preferably around 97 % Rebaudioside A, may be around 200, 250 and 300 times sweeter than sucrose / sugar. Also considering that people may take from flat 1 tsp to overflowing 2 tsps of sugar/drink,

We calculated Stevia required per serving giving sweetness equivalent to little less than a teaspoon to little more than 2 teaspoons, in Table 1.

Table 1 Calculation of amount of Stevia with greater than 90 % Rebaudioside A
Weight of Amount of Stevia having greater than 90 % Rebaudioside A sucrose/sugar required to produce sweetness as that of 1 - 2 teaspoons of sugar in teaspoon when Stevia is 200 I When Stevia is 250 I When Stevia is 300 times sweeter than times sweeter than times sweeter than sugar / sucrose sugar / sucrose sugar / sucrose
3 gms 15 mg 12 mg 10 mg

It is noted that stevia from around 26.67 mg - 40 mg is equivalent to around 8g of sugar which is approximately 2 tsp of sugar. Different people have different choices regarding sweetness and may prefer different amounts of sugar / sweetener in their drinks/food. Since people may add ltsp (around 4 - 5 gms) , 1.5 tsp (around 6 - 7.5 gms) and 2 tsp (around 8-12 gms) of sugar in their 1 cup of tea or coffee and also considering that Stevia with greater than 90% Rebaudioside A is around 200 - 300 times sweeter than sucrose, the unit pack / serving of sweetener should contain around 10 - 60 mg of Stevia having greater than 90% of rebaudioside A. Hence the proposed amount of stevia per sachet was determined to be around 10-60 mg, This was the theoretical amount. The amount of stevia per sachet can be preferably 20 - 50 and most preferably from around 26.67 mg - around 40 mg.
In addition to above theoretical calculation, we also prepared several solutions of Stevia powder in various concentrations to check which concentration tastes similar to sugar solution. In this method, we compared sweetness of stevia solutions of different concentrations with 10 % sugar solution through nine taste panelists.

Tasting Method using cotton swabs

Each volunteer should rinse his or her mouth out with plain tap water and then gently dry his or her tongue with a paper towel.

Fill a plastic cup with standard 10 % sugar solution (10 g sugar dissolved in total 100 ml solution).

Dip a clean cotton swab into the standard sugar solution and smear it all over the first volunteer's tongue. This gives the volunteer a baseline for comparing the different solutions.

Dip another clean cotton swab into the stevia solution (100 ml) containing 20 mg of stevia and smear it all over the volunteer's tongue. Ask the volunteer if he or she can detect a change in Sweetness level compared with the standard sugar solution. After tasting, each taste panelist was asked to detect a change in sweetness level if any. Tests were repeated with other stevia solutions of different concentrations. The solutions were tested in the order, from least concentrated to most concentrated ones. Volunteers rinsed their mouths with tap water and gently dry their tongues with a paper towel in between tastings after tasting each solution.

Table 2: - Comparison of different stevia concentration with 10% sugar solution
Number of People Who Substance & Dilution

Detected a Change

10 % sugar solution containing 10 g of sugar in 100 ml solution and 100 ml Stevia solution 9 containing 20 mg of dissolved stevia
10 % sugar solution containing 10 g of sugar in 100 ml solution and 100 ml Stevia solution 9 containing 30 mg of dissolved stevia
10 % sugar solution containing 10 g of sugar in 100 ml solution and 100 ml Stevia solution 1 containing 40 mg of dissolved stevia
10 % sugar solution containing 10 g of sugar in 100 ml solution and 100 ml Stevia solution 5 containing 50 mg of dissolved stevia

Most promising concentration of stevia which was found equivalent in sweetness to 10 % sugar solution was one with 40 mg of stevia. The 10 % sugar solution had 10 g of sugar. Hence we can equate sweetness of 40 mg of Stevia to 10 g of Sugar. Therefore, our stevia is 250 times sweeter than sucrose tested. Since there might be variation in sweetness from one lot of stevia to another and from one source of stevia powder to another, such experiments would always help in arriving at more accurate measurements. Step 3 - Arriving at compositions having

a. onset of sweetness equivalent to onset of sweetness of sugar and
b. duration of sweetness equivalent to duration of sweetness of sugar
c. low or no bitter aftertaste

This step 3 required that we should optimize product as well as process. For several reasons, Stevia cannot be given alone as a substitute of sugar. First, it is difficult to dispense such low quantity of stevia in a sachet or from any bulk container. Second reason is inherent bitterness of stevia powder. Thus along with sweetness of stevia, its bitter taste is very prominent. Referring table 1 above, stevia equivalent to around 8 g of sugar is from 26.67 to around 40 mg considering that it is about 200 - about 300 times sweeter than sugar. Hence for most experiments, we selected stevia within this range, such as from 26-28 mg, 36 mg and 40 mg. Thus, it was essential to mask bitter taste / tone of Stevia without masking its sweetness in such a way that one could formulate composition having around 26.67 mg to around 40 mg of stevia in combination with other additives / bulking agents. Third, it was essential to add to stevia an additive which can enhance the overall flavor of composition so that those who would not take stevia alone would be ready to take such composition with better taste compliance. The additive should be such that

1. it should not add to any undesired taste of its own to the composition
2. should be able to mask bitter taste of stevia
3. should be low calorie additive

4. should be able to give composition which is easy to process into a sachet.
5. It should neither affect onset nor duration of sweetness when compared with Sugar.

To find out the onset of sweetness for each combination of stevia with different additive/ bulking agents and to compare the same with sugar, we conducted survey of nine taste panelists / volunteers. We prepared solutions containing stevia and additives/bulking agents and compared their onset of sweetness with onset of sweetness of 10% sugar solution. Each mixture is codified and given to taste panelist. Tasting method was exactly similar as described previously (cotton swab method). Table 3 shows number of panelists/volunteers who detected change in onset and duration of sweetness of various stevia containing solutions from the onset of sweetness of 10% sugar solution erythritol.

Therefore, only erythritol could make substantial difference in the slow onset of sweetness of Stevia and less duration of sweetness of stevia. Other bulking agents almost did not affect the slow onset of sweetness of stevia and low duration of sweetness of stevia.

Erythritol in solution form showed most promising onset of sweetness. Next task was to formulate compositions using various bulking agents. Two processes used to prepare the compositions.

1) Dry Mixtures and 2) Granulation Dry mixtures of Stevia (28 mg) and various additives I bulking agents were prepared for further tasting in ratios 1:50, 1:75, 1:100 and 1> 100. Testing protocol was made as follows:

1. Codify various sweetener samples
2. Weigh Sweetener sample from about 1 - about 5 gms separately
3. Add the sweetener samples separately into 100 ml water and stir until dissolves
4. Provide the solution to taste to panellist and request them to drink it and evaluate following
(a) Sweetness, (b) Bitter aftertaste, (c) Cooling effect, (d) Astringent Action (e) Prolonged sweetness (duration of sweetness) and (f) Onset of sweetness
5. If necessary repeat the process with higher amount of sweetener composition
6. Record the response of taste panellist in format of table 4

Following bulking agents were considered. Lactose, dextrose, maltodextrin and, erythritol. After the data collection, compilation of data for each additive / bulking agent is done.
After tasting in solution form, blends of Stevia powder and bulking agent were prepared in following ratios taking 28 mg of Stevia and the same were tasted as dry mixtures and the details of which are provided in table 5.

Most promising samples are blends of stevia and erythritol from about 1:50 to about 1:100. Lactose, dextrose provides chalky taste and maltodextrin blends had very slow onset of sweetness. None of the sample showed promising result and completely free from bitter aftertaste.

So far erythritol was found to be best additive / bulking agent. However using low amounts of Stevia was risky as there was probability of uneven mixing of stevia powder owing to relatively less amount of Stevia powder incorporated in above
blends. Hence granulation of dry blend and several process optimization techniques were first tried.

Granulation of dry blend of Stevia and bulking agent

Stevia and bulking agents are mixed geometrically and the mixture is added to
planetary mixture. Water is added slowly and mass is allowed to undergo granulation.

Wet mass is dried and semi dried mass is passed through sifter and dried subsequently. After drying, dried granules are tasted by method mentioned above.
Table 6 shows that blending stevia with bulking agent at different ratio.

Observation - There was slight improvement in the bitter aftertaste as compared to dry blend. This might be due to better mixing of Stevia as compared to dry blend. The above experiment showed that lactose did not have undesired cooling effect but showed chalky taste which needs to be improved whereas erythritol was best over others but still showed undesired cooling effect.

Granulation of bulking agent using Stevia solution

It was difficult to consider this approach of process modification due to several constraints. Different bulking agents would take up different proportion of granulating liquid with stevia dissolved in it. For example Erythritol takes much
lesser amount of granulating liquid as compared to lactose as bulking agents. Hence few batches of Erythritol granulation were executed using dissolved stevia. When stevia is added in solution form, the bitter aftertaste of the dried granules is much reduced and also a reduction in brightness or cooling effect of Erythritol was observed.

The major disadvantage in using Erythritol was the undesired cooling effect or brightness. If this effect can be nullified, it would have better properties than lactose and maltodextrin because Erythritol formulations neither had chalky or gritty taste like lactose nor had slow onset and short duration of sweetness like maltodextrin. It also served as perfect low calorie bulking agent.

Thus both adjusting stevia concentration to match it with sweetness of sugar and work on undesirable properties of bulking agents to make them suitable for incorporating into the product was essential.

Lower amount of Stevia provides reduced sweetness whereas higher amounts lead to bitter aftertaste which is very prominent.

While working on the experiments described under table 2, when we added Stevia to water and made various solutions, we surprisingly found that such solutions tasted better than dry blends. The water had helped to reduce bitterness to significant extent.

However due to dilution, the sweetness effect had also reduced in such Stevia solution. Thus process of preparing sweetener composition was equally important and synergistic to product composition. Thus we thought of diluting and concentrating Stevia solution to modify the bitterness/sweetness tones. Further, it was first necessary to arrive at best proportion/ ratio of Stevia and Erythritol to optimize granulation of Erythritol with Stevia solution. For this, we prepared Stevia solutions of different concentrations and added those (from 1.2 ml to 10 ml solutions) to 100 ml water. To this was dissolved 2 gms of Erythritol and these solutions were subjected to tasting by taste panellist. (Refer example 1 and 2). Surprisingly we found that ratio of Stevia : Erythritol in 1:43 is quite acceptable with still intense bitter note whereas ratio of around 1:71 was surprisingly much better. This ratio was considered while making further batches incorporating granulation using Stevia solution. We also noted that granulation of Erythritol using stevia solution had synergistic action on cooling effect or brightness of Erythritol however lingering bitter aftertaste was still persistent.

While optimizing ratio, to adjust the ratio of Stevia and Erythritol and as also we thought of using dilution followed by concentration as better option to modify bitterness/ sweetness tones, we concentrated stevia solution at a temperature greater than 80°C to aid rapid evaporation and also because Stevia is reported as heat stable. To our surprise, we noted that heating stevia solution at such high temperature causes great improvement in bitter aftertaste associated with stevia. We heated the solution at below 80°C and observed the same effect but with much less intensity. The stevia solution can be reduced from its original volume to about 25 % - about 50 %. This stevia solution is named as concentrated stevia solution.
For granulation, we kept the ratio of stevia to erythritol close to 1:71 and temperature of above 80°C to concentrate Stevia solution. Refer example 3. Granules produced are surprisingly the best granules ever with all desired properties as follows:

1. Quick onset of sweetness and prolonged sweetness
2. No bitter taste / aftertaste

3. Less cooling effect than dry mixture To optimize process further, we added warm concentrated solution of Stevia in Erythritol and granulated the blend. To control particle size, semi dried granules are passed through sifter fitted with # 16 mesh and further dried. Adding warm solution at 40 - 50°C to Erythritol produced further enhancement in granules taste. Further we replaced Erythritol by lactose and maltodextrin. The granules were much better but not as comparable to Erythritol granules. Earlier we arrived by calculation that at about 10-60 mg of Stevia may produce around same taste as that of about 1 teaspoon of sugar. Tasting of the granules have reflected satisfactory results and comparable to sweetness of about 1-2 teaspoons of sucrose.

While working on Step 3, we could arrive at composition that had quick onset and longer duration of sweetness. Stevia and erythritol in granulated form wherein granulation is done with warm concentrated stevia solution gave all desired sweetener properties.

However, cooling effect of erythritol was still persistent and aftertaste though highly reduced was still lingering.

Step 4 - Optimization - Preparing various compositions to arrive at compositions masking lingering bitter aftertaste and to reduce bright cooling effect of erythritol
Product containing Stevia and erythritol prepared using concentrated stevia solution had all desired properties. Only two disadvantages were 1) aftertaste though considerably reduced was lingering and 2) erythritol had bright cooling effect. Lactose did not contribute to bright cooling effect like erythritol, however lactose had several other problems such as 1) chalky taste 2) Lactose unlike erythritol contributes to calories. Other bulking agents like maltodextrin reduced both onset of sweetness and had shown low duration of sweetness.
To reduce bright cooling taste of erythritol, few mixtures of erythritol and other bulking agents including lactose were tried using optimized granulation process. Thus granulated stevia powder containing stevia erythritol and other bulking agent (one at a time) was prepared by

1) blending erythritol and other bulking agent
2) granulating the blend by concentrated warm stevia solution
3) obtaining granules

For these experiments, ratio of stevia to bulking agent was around 1:45 Also ratio of erythritol to other bulking agent was varied from 70 :30 to 30:70. Thus following granules were produced.

1. Stevia, erythritol and other bulking agent wherein ratio of erythritol :other bulking agent is 70:30

2. Stevia, erythritol and other bulking agent wherein ratio of erythritol : other bulking agent is 60:40

3. Stevia, erythritol and other bulking agent wherein ratio of erythritol : other bulking agent is 50:50

4. Stevia, erythritol and other bulking agent wherein ratio of erythritol : other bulking agent is 40:60

5. Stevia, erythritol and other bulking agent wherein ratio of erythritol : other bulking agent is 30:70 Wherein the other bulking agent at a time was selected as lactose, maltodextrin and dextrose

After producing granules we prepared different solutions from the granules containing stevia, erythritol and other bulking agents. All these solutions were tasted for aftertaste by 9 taste panelists /volunteers using the same taste method (cotton swab method). Table 7 provides the number of panelists/ volunteer who detected aftertaste.

maltodextrin solution NA

*NA - Taste was not acceptable

Samples having ratio of erythritol to lactose from about 3:2 to about 2:3 are found to be best samples. Most promising sample was combination of 60 % erythritol & 40 % lactose. Hence batches of sweetner compositions incorporating combination of erythritol and lactose in a ratio from about 6:4 (3:2) to about 4:6(2:3) and stevia from around 28 mg to 60 mg per sachet containing greater than 90 % rebudoside A are prepared as provided in examples 5 and 6.

To conclude, product incorporating stevia and the mixture of erythritol and lactose
and prepared by granulation using concentrated warm stevia solution as described
under examples 5 provided surprising effects in sweetness onset and duration as well as no lingering aftertaste. Product containing stevia and erythritol alone in granulated form also had excellent onset and duration of sweetness and reduced aftertaste, however the aftertaste was lingering. When erythritol was used alone, ratio of stevia to erythritol of around 1:43 was acceptable but ratio around 1:71 was preferred.

Therefore, more amount of stevia was incorporated using combination of bulking agents.

We could incorporate more stevia when mixture of bulking agents was used as compared to erythritol alone. Thus we could incorporate high amount of stevia to match sweetness of sugar without bitter aftertaste of stevia, and we could incorporate low amount of erythritol without bright and unpleasant cooling effect and as we could incorporate lactose without undesired chalky taste and while still maintaining the status as "low calorie". Our unit sachet composition will have calories less than 10 and preferably less than 5.

The sweetener compositions can be provided in sachet containing around 1 g to 5 g of composition. Amount of stevia can be from 10 - 60 mg per sachet and more preferable, from 26.67 - 60 mg per sachet.

Following examples are non-limiting embodiments of the present invention

Example 1 - Preparation of concentrated solution of Stevia

Stevia powder 0.7 g is dissolved in 100 ml water with stirring. The solution is heated to 90°C and heated further to prepare concentrated solution. When the solution is 30 ml, it is slowly cooled to around 50°C. Example 2 - Optimizing Ratio of Stevia and Erythritol

Diluted following amounts of concentrated solutions by adding 100 ml water and Erythritol was added to into such dilute solutions.

a) 10 ml of the concentrated solution from example 1 was added to 100ml water and in this solution was dissolved 2 gms of Erythritol
b) 4 ml of the concentrated solution from example 1 was added to 100ml water and in this solution was dissolved 2 gms of Erythritol
c) 2 ml of the concentrated solution from example 1 was added to 100ml water and in this solution was dissolved 2 gms of Erythritol
d) 2 ml of the concentrated solution from example 1 was added to 100ml water and in this solution was dissolved 1.5 gms of Erythritol
e) 1.2 ml of the concentrated solution from example 1 was added to 100ml water and in this solution was dissolved 2 gms of Erythritol

Each of the above solution and Erythritol 2 gm dissolved in 100 ml as control were given to a panel of five tasters. Each panelist is asked to evaluate the solution that has less "brightness". All panelists report that the erythritol-stevia solution e) had significantly less "brightness" than the control. They also report a pleasant sweet taste and a lack of bitterness that is expected from the stevia extract and in one case a mild, but pleasant root beer note. Table 8 shows different ratio of stevia and erythritol.

Example-3

The following three compositions are made by the method described below.

Stevia is dissolved in 100 ml water; the solution is concentrated at a temperature of
90 - 95°C till it reduces to around 30 ml. The solution is further used to granulate
2000 gms of Erythritol loaded in planetary mixer. The wet mass is dried at 45-55°C.

When the granules are semidried, they are passed through #16 mesh and dried further.

In sample A, 25gm of stevia was dissolved to granulate 2000gm of erythriotol
In sample B, 28gm of stevia was granulated with 2000gm of erythriotol
In sample C, 30 gm of stevia was granulated with 2000gm of erythriotol

The erythritol is Exidex.TM. powder from Cargill, Inc, Minneapolis, Minn. The
stevia extract is from the Herboveda India and has a Rebaudioside A concentration of 98 wt % relative to all steviol glycosides.

All 3 samples showed good sweetness, no bitter aftertaste, quick onset of action and prolonged duration of sweetness. Sample B was rated the best with least cooling, most sweet and no bitter aftertaste. Table 9 shows that different granular ratio stevia and erythritol.

Example 4 - Further process optimization

18.2 gms of Stevia powder is dissolved in 100 ml water with stirring. The solution is concentrated at about 85 - 95°C to 30 ml. The concentrated solution is cooled to 50°C and added to 1300 g of Erythritol in planetary mixer at a temperature of about 40 -

50°C. The wet mass is semi dried at 45 - 55°C and passed through sifter fitted with # 16 mesh sieve. The granules are again loaded into drier and dried further. Observation - Addition of warm solution of Stevia to Erythritol, passing semidried granules through #16 mesh before further drying further added to the desired granule properties.

Example 5- Further Product Optimization

Table 10:- Preparation of batches of sweetener compositions incorporating
mixture of erythritol and lactose.

Preparation of Batch 2

18 g of Stevia powder is dissolved in 100 ml water with stirring. The solution is concentrated at about 85 - 95°C to 30 ml. In a planetary mixer, lactose 348 g and erythritol 521 g are blended for 10 min. The concentrated solution of Stevia is cooled to 50°C and added at a temperature of about 40 - 50°C to blend of lactose and erythritol in planetary mixer with slow mixing. The wet mass is semi dried at 45 -55°C and passed through sifter fitted with #16 mesh sieve. The granules are again loaded into drier and dried further.

Example 6 - Amount of stevia, erythritol and lactose per sachet. Table 11 - Per sachet sweetener composition

Sachet may contain from around 10 - 60 and more preferably from around 26.67 to around 60 mg of stevia. The above sachets provided sweetness around 1.5 - 2tsp of sugar. Accordingly sachets that provide sweetness of around 0.5 - 1.5 tsp of sugar can also be prepared and part of present invention.

CLAIMS

I Claim:-

1. A granular low calorie sweetener composition comprising of Stevia and at least one bulking agent.

2. A low calorie sweetener composition comprising of Stevia and bulking agent wherein ratio of stevia to bulking agent is from about 1:10 to about 1:100, more preferably from about 1:20 to about 1:80.

3. Composition according to claim 1 or 2 wherein Stevia has greater than 90 % of Rebaudioside A.

4. Composition according to claim 1 or 2 wherein bulking agent is selected from the group consisting of lactose, dextrose, maltodextrin, erythritol and combinations thereof.

5. The composition according to claim 1 or 2 wherein bulking agent is erythritol or mixture of erythritol and lactose.

6. The composition according to claim 5 wherein erythritol and lactose are used in ratio from about 3:2 to about 2:3.

7. Process of preparing granular low calorie sweetener composition comprising the steps of:

a) Dissolving stevia in water,
b) Concentrating the solution of step a at temperature of greater than 80°C,
c) Cooling the concentrated solution of step b to a temperature below 80°C,
d) Adding warm concentrated stevia solution of step c to at least one bulking agent and granulating to obtain wet mass,
e) Processing wet mass obtained in step d to produce granules.

8. Process according to claim 7, wherein the bulking agent is erythritol or
mixture of erythritol and lactose.

9. Process according to claim 8 further comprising mixing of erythritol and lactose before addition of warm concentrated stevia solution.

10. Sachet containing from around 0.5 to around 5 g of sweetener composition comprising from around 10 mg - 60 mg of stevia.