Stevia-based natural sweetener formulation for taste masking at low pH

Overview

This research addresses the challenge of masking unpleasant tastes in highly acidic formulations (pH below 2) using natural sweeteners derived from stevia. The approach combines steviol glycosides with selected alkali natural sweeteners to achieve high solubility and stability in low-pH environments, where most conventional sweeteners fail to perform effectively.

Stevia sweeteners, composed of steviol glycosides, are approximately 250 to 300 times sweeter than sucrose or glucose. Beyond sweetness, stevia extract offers biologically active compounds with documented health benefits, including anti-diabetic, antihypertensive, anti-tumor, anti-cariogenic, and anti-inflammatory properties. The proposed formulation leverages these dual advantages, sweetness intensity and functional health benefits, to serve as a natural alternative to sugar and synthetic sweeteners in acidic product applications.

Technical specifications

Core approach:

• Combining stevia-derived sweeteners with two or three complementary alkali natural sweeteners
• Heating the sweetener mixture to produce a high-concentration solution
• Processing via spray drying to reduce particle size and produce amorphous samples
• Optimizing spray dryer inlet and outlet temperatures to achieve thermal stability

Key technical advantages:

• High solubility at pH below 2, enabling use in strongly acidic formulations
• Amorphous particle morphology that enhances dissolution rate at low pH
• Improved thermal stability through controlled spray drying parameters
• Multi-component sweetener blend designed to mask bitter or metallic off-notes common in acidic products

Applications:

• Acidic beverages and functional drinks
• Pharmaceutical formulations requiring taste masking
• Sour or tart food products needing sweetness enhancement
• Natural-label product development replacing synthetic sweeteners

Technology readiness level

The research is at an early experimental stage. Planned validation work includes collecting stevia plant material, preparing stevia powder, and formulating sweetener blends with water at defined weight-to-volume ratios. Spray drying experiments will be conducted to optimize particle size reduction and thermal stability parameters. Further studies will examine the physicochemical properties of the resulting formulations, including solubility, stability, and taste-masking performance at low pH conditions.