By Nor Baizura Basri
As the number of people afflicted with diabetes is ever increasing, the search for healthy alternative sweeteners is on.
An alternative to the table sugar is needed to control the glucose in the daily diet and in the number of diabetics in Malaysia.
The Second National Health and Morbidity Survey estimated that there are 3.4 million Malaysians suffering from diabetes in 2010.
Stevia, a sub tropical herb from South America is among the latest alternative sweetener available. Stevia has negligible effect on blood glucose and therefore is used as sweeteners in diets to control carbohydrate.
It is also used as the alternative sweetener in the production of food and beverages and is increasingly gaining international recognition.
In Malaysia, its use is gaining wide acceptance especially following the recent rise in sugar prices.
USING STEVIA TO PRODUCE FOOD
A health drink manufacturer CT Lang Sdn Bhd now uses stevia as the alternative sweetener in its products.
Its manager Abdullah Mohamad noted that stevia has big potential as it could be grown easily and the leaves harvested within three months.
"Stevia can replace table sugar at a time where the government is encouraging the people to reduce sugar intake and is slowly doing away with the subsidy for the commodity," he told Bernama here recently.
In Japan 50 to 60 per cent of the sweeteners used are from stevia and it is used in many of its food products, he said.
Abdullah said the extract from the stevia leaves is between 300 and 400 times more sweeter compared with sugarcane extract.
ECONOMIC CROP FOR SMALL HOLDERS
Abdullah noted that if the nation could grow this crop, it not only would reduce the dependence on sweetener imports but also provide income for local smallholders.
In this respect, the company has been working with elected representatives to entice smallholders to plant stevia in small scale.
"The elected representatives can assist by providing fertiliser and seeds and the harvest can be sold to the company, that needs the stevia extract for its products," he said.
So far, farmers in Bagan Serai in Perak and Silam in Sabah have agreed to this idea and are expected to start cultivation shortly.
COMMERCIAL CULTIVATION
The stevia cultivation starts with the seed maturing process that takes a month. Within three months of planting the leaves are harvested and the sweet juice is extracted from the leaves and processed into sweetener.
Abdullah pointed out the planting process is straight forward and does not cost much and the impressive revenue cycle guarantees stevia's potential within and without the nation.
By introducing small planting modules to the smallholders, this will help to establish a commercial stevia planting network.
For a start RM40,000 is needed for planting stevia on an area about 0.4 to 0.8 hectares, said Abdullah.
With stevia, Malaysians have an alternative to table sugar and good economic potential as stevia trade is valued at RM5 billion annually.
Abdullah noted that many Malaysians were still ignorant of stevia's potential and its benefits.
However, it is hoped that the company's undertaking will help expose the plant's potential and emerge as one of the economic drivers for the nation's agricultural sector, he said. (PNA/Bernama)
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