Methanolic and hydroalcoholic extract of stevia stems have antihyperglycemic and antilipid activity

The use of Stevia rebaudiana stems leaves can negatively interfere with the process of obtaining and purifying sweeteners. If separated, they account for 30 % of the plant's biomass, besides being used as a supplement to animal feed. This pioneering study performed commonly used extractions from the leaves. We characterized the extracts (methanolic and hydroalcoholic) and their fractions (ethyl acetate) by UHPLC-MS/MS. Besides, we evaluated their antioxidant, antidiabetic, and antiobesity capacity in vitro. The extracts had 17 % of phenolics, with antioxidant activity of about 65 %. The fraction with 26 % of phenolics showed an antioxidant capacity of 89 %. The lipase inhibition rate was higher than the fraction, about 2.5 times. The same happened with the enzymes alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase, where the hydroalcoholic extract showed 30 and 90 % inhibition, respectively. These results show that the stem is a valuable co-product for the Stevia production chain.