Glucosyl stevia composition

Abstract

Glucosyl Stevia compositions are prepared from steviol glycosides of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni. The glucosylation was performed by cyclodextrin glucanotransferase using the starch as source of glucose residues. The short-chain glucosyl Stevia compositions were purified to >95% content of total steviol glycosides. The compositions can be used as sweetness enhancers, flavor enhancers and sweeteners in foods, beverages, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A process for producing a highly purified glucosyl  Stevia  composition, comprising the steps of:
 adding starch into water to form a starch suspension;   adding a mixture of α-amylase and CGTase into the starch suspension and incubating for about 0.5 to 2 hours at about 75-80° C., resulting in a liquefied starch suspension;   inactivating the α-amylase by low pH heat treatment;   cooling the liquefied starch suspension and adjusting the pH to about 5.5 to 7.0;   adding steviol glycosides into the liquefied starch suspension, resulting in a reaction mixture;   adding a second batch of CGTase into the reaction mixture and incubating for about 12 to 48 hours at about 55-75° C.;   adding β-amylase to reaction mixture and incubating for about 12-24 hours at about 35-55° C.;   inactivating the enzymes in the reaction mixture by heat treatment;   decolorizing the reaction mixture;   removing non-diterpene compounds by contacting the decolorized reaction mixture with macroporous adsorbent resin and subsequently eluting adsorbed diterpene glycosides with aqueous ethanol to result in a glycoside-containing aqueous ethanol eluate;   desalting the glycoside-containing aqueous ethanol eluate with ion-exchange resins;   removing ethanol from the aqueous ethanol eluate, resulting in an aqueous eluate;   concentrating and drying the aqueous eluate to obtain the dried glucosyl  Stevia  composition,   suspending the dried glucosyl  Stevia  composition in aqueous alcohol to form a suspension, removing unmodified steviol glycosides from the suspension, and separating and drying the highly purified glucosyl  Stevia  composition;   wherein the highly purified glucosyl  Stevia  composition comprises short-chain steviol glycoside derivatives having two or less α-1,4-glucosyl residues, and less than about 15% unmodified steviol glycosides.   
     
     
         2 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the mixture of α-amylase and CGTase contains about 0.001-0.2 KNU of α-amylase per one unit of CGTase. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 2 , wherein the mixture of α-amylase and CGTase contains about 0.05-0.1 KNU of α-amylase per one unit of CGTase. 
     
     
         4 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the weight of added steviol glycosides is about equal to that of the starch. 
     
     
         5 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the added steviol glycosides are selected from the group consisting of stevioside, Rebaudioside A, Rebaudioside B, Rebaudioside C, Rebaudioside D, Rebaudioside E, Rebaudioside F, dulcoside A, steviolbioside, rubusoside, as well as other steviol glycosides found in  Stevia rebaudiana  Bertoni plant and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the CGTase is produced by cultures of  Bacillus stearothemophilus.    
     
     
         7 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the second batch of CGTase has about 0.2-4 units of CGTase per gram of solids. 
     
     
         8 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the second batch of CGTase has about 0.5-1.2 units of CGTase per gram of solids. 
     
     
         9 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the β-amylase is produced by cultures of  Bacillus polymyxa.    
     
     
         10 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the β-amylase is derived from one or more sources selected from the group consisting of animal, plant, bacterial, and fungal sources. 
     
     
         11 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the β-amylase is added at about 30-50 units per gram of total solids, and the treatment is carried out at a temperature of about 40-60° C., for a duration of about 3-16 hours. 
     
     
         12 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein after the β-amylase treatment, the short-chain glucosylated derivatives of stevioside and Rebaudioside A have two or less α-glucosyl residues. 
     
     
         13 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein instead of adding β-amylase to the reaction mixture, an oligo- or polysaccharide hydrolyzing enzyme, derived from one or more sources selected from the group consisting of animal, plant, bacterial, and fungal sources, is added to the reaction mixture. 
     
     
         14 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the decolorizing is performed using activated carbon. 
     
     
         15 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the decolorizing is performed using ion exchange resins or membranes, said membranes being selected from the group consisting of ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis membranes. 
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein removing non-diterpene compounds is conducted with a plurality of sequentially connected columns packed with a macroporous adsorbent resin, followed by washing the columns with water, then washing with about 10-50% (v/v) ethanol, disconnecting the columns, and then eluting each column individually with 30-100% ethanol. 
     
     
         17 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the desalting is performed by passing the eluate through columns packed with ion exchange resins or membranes, said membranes being selected from the group consisting of ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis membranes. 
     
     
         18 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the aqueous alcohol comprises from about 0-50% (vol), water, and further comprising the steps of agitating the suspension at about 30-100° C., for a period of about 1-24 hours prior to separating the highly purified glucosyl  Stevia  composition. 
     
     
         19 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the highly purified glucosyl  Stevia  composition has at least about 95% total steviol glycosides on an anhydrous basis. 
     
     
         20 . The process according to  claim 1 , wherein the highly purified glucosyl  Stevia  composition has less than 15% unreacted steviol glycosides on an anhydrous basis. 
     
     
         21 . A sweetener composition comprising a highly purified glucosyl  Stevia  composition made by the process of  claim 1 , and an additional sweetening agent selected from the group consisting of:  Stevia  extract, steviol glycosides, stevioside, Rebaudioside A, Rebaudioside B, Rebaudioside C, Rebaudioside D, Rebaudioside E, Rebaudioside F, dulcoside A, steviolbioside, rubusoside, other steviol glycosides found in  Stevia rebaudiana  Bertoni plant and mixtures thereof, Luo Han Guo extract, mogrosides, high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, invert sugar, fructooligosaccharides, inulin, inulooligosaccharides, coupling sugar, maltooligosaccharides, maltodextins, corn syrup solids, glucose, maltose, sucrose, lactose, aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, sugar alcohols, and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         22 . A flavor composition comprising a highly purified glucosyl  Stevia  composition made by the process of  claim 1 , and an additional flavoring agent selected from the group consisting of: lemon, orange, fruity, banana, grape, pear, pineapple, mango, bitter almond, cola, cinnamon, sugar, cotton candy, vanilla, and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         23 . A food ingredient comprising a highly purified glucosyl  Stevia  composition made by the process of  claim 1 , and an additional food ingredient selected from the group consisting of: acidulants, organic and amino acids, coloring agents, bulking agents, modified starches, gums, texturizers, preservatives, antioxidants, emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickeners, gelling agents, and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         24 . A food, beverage, cosmetic or pharmaceutical product comprising a highly purified glucosyl  Stevia  composition made by the process of  claim 1 .