Shinde et al Journal of Drug Delivery & Therapeutics. 2020; 10(4-s):271-274 ISSN: 2250-1177 [271] CODEN (USA): JDDTAO Available online on 15.08.2020 at http://jddtonline.info Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics Open Access to Pharmaceutical and Medical Research © 2011-18, publisher and licensee JDDT, This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited Open Access Review Article Health Benefits and Application of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni in Dentistry Mitali Ravindra Shinde*, Jasmin Winnier D. Y. Patil School of Dentistry, Nerul, Navi Mumbai, India ABSTRACT A wide range of artificial and synthetic products have been replaced by the natural products for daily use. The natural products are believed to have more advantages and less adverse effects. The plant products such as stem, flower, fruit, seed, leaves, etc have been experimented. Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, a perennial shrub which is a native of South America. During World War II, England used it as a sweetener as sugar was not available. By 1970, it was used as a sweetener in Japan. In 1994, US approved steviol glycosides as functional ingredient in dietary supplements. It is non-caloric sweetener which is 200-300 times sweeter than table sugar. Its use as a sweetener was approved by FDA in 2011. There is growing evidence supporting the use of stevia in diabetes, hypertension, weight loss, etc. Dental caries is an infectious microbiologic disease of the tooth that results in localized dissolution and destruction of calcified tissues. There has been an increased interest on antimicrobial and anti-plaque activity of stevia mouth rinse and chewing gums. Researches on the aqueous and alcoholic extracts of stevia have also been conducted to evaluate its potential advantages in the dental field. This review describes in detail the health benefits and application of stevia in dentistry. Keywords: Stevia, Dental, Medical Article Info: Received 12 June 2020; Review Completed 22 July 2020; Accepted 04 August 2020; Available online 15 August 2020 Cite this article as: Shinde MR, Winnier J, Health Benefits and Application of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni in Dentistry, Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics. 2020; 10(4-s):271-274 http://dx.doi.org/10.22270/jddt.v10i4-s.4285 *Address for Correspondence: Dr. Mitali Shinde, Post-graduate, D. Y. Patil School of Dentistry, Nerul, Navi Mumbai, India INTRODUCTION Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is a natural sweetener and an effective alternative to sugar 1 . The genus stevia belongs to Asteraceae family and tribe Eupatorieae which includes about 240 species 1,2 . Stevia was first classified in the year 1940 and it is named after Spanish botanist and physician Petrus Jacobus Stevus 3 . It is commonly known as stevia, candy leaf, sweet leaf of Paraguay, sweet-herb, honey yerba, honey leaf, yaawaan 1 . The vernacular name for Stevia are madhu patra (Sanskrit), meethi patti (Hindi), stévia or stévie (French), kaʼa heʼẽ (Brazil), madhu parani (Marathi), süßkraut (German), chini biruwa (Nepal), tian ju ye (Chinese), ya-wan (Thailand) 1 . TAXANOMIC CLASSIFICATION 4 :  Kingdom: Plantae  Subkingdom: Tracheobionta  Superdivision: Spermatophyta  Division: Magnoliophyta  Class: Magnoliopsida  Subclass: Asteridae  Group: Monochlamydae  Order: Asterales  Family: Asteraceae (Compositae formerly)  Subfamily: Asteroideae  Tribe: Eupatorieae  Genus: Stevia  Species: rebaudiana ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION Stevia is native of South America especially Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina. It is commercially cultivated in China, Japan, Brazil, Canada, USA, UK, Spain, Belgium, Australia, South Korea, Thailand, Israel and Taiwan 5 . China and Japan are the world’s major producers and exporters for stevia. Japan has approved the use of stevioside in many food products including cereals, teas, and soft drinks in 2006 6 . MORPHOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION: Stevia is a subtropical perennial herb which has more or less pubescent stems with extensive, fibrous and filiform root system 4 . The plant grows upto 65-80 cm in height and bears sessile, oppositely arranged leaves with blunt-tipped lamina having serrate margin from the middle to the tip (Fig. 1) 5 The plant bears small (10-15 mm) white colour pentamerous flowers (Fig. 2) in capitulum surrounded by green colour bracts. Seed of stevia is a five-ribbed spindle shaped achene with feathery pappus (Fig. 3) 4 .