Method for producing steviol glycoside composition

Abstract

Provided are a novel production method of a steviol glycoside composition and a method for increasing the concentration of steviol glycosides in a steviol glycoside-containing solution. Also provided is a food or beverage that contains a steviol glycoside composition produced by this production method. The production method of a steviol glycoside composition comprises preparing a steviol glycoside-containing solution containing a stevia extract and adding an additive to the steviol glycoside-containing solution to give a treated solution, wherein the additive is added so as to adjust the pH of the treated solution to 10-13.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for producing a steviol glycoside composition, and a method for increasing the concentration of a steviol glycoside in a steviol glycoside-containing solution. The present invention also relates to a food or drink containing the steviol glycoside composition produced by the production method. [Background technology]

[0002] The leaves of Stevia rebaudiana (Asteraceae) contain a secondary metabolite called steviol, a type of diterpenoid. Steviol glycoside is used in the food industry as a calorie-free sweetener because it is about 300 times sweeter than sugar. Obesity has become a serious social problem worldwide, and the demand for calorie-free sweeteners is growing day by day from the perspective of health promotion and medical cost reduction. Currently, artificially synthesized amino acid derivatives such as aspartame and acesulfame potassium are used as artificial sweeteners, but naturally occurring calorie-free sweeteners such as steviol glycoside are expected to be safer and easier to gain public acceptance.

[0003] Various compositions containing steviol glycosides have been reported so far. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a method for obtaining a steviol glycoside composition by extracting rebaudioside M from the leaves of the stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) plant, which contains rebaudioside M at a higher concentration than the common relative concentration. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2017 / 035527 Brochure Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present invention provides a novel method for producing a steviol glycoside composition, a method for increasing the concentration of steviol glycoside in a steviol glycoside-containing solution, and a food or drink product containing the steviol glycoside composition produced by the method. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] As a result of intensive research, the present inventors have found that the concentration of a steviol glycoside composition in a steviol glycoside-containing solution can be increased by adjusting the pH to a predetermined range in the process of producing steviol glycoside from dried leaves of a stevia plant, and have completed the present invention. The present invention is as follows. [1] Providing a steviol glycoside-containing solution containing a stevia extract; adding a first additive (when no further additive is added, it may simply be referred to as "additive") to the steviol glycoside-containing solution to prepare a first treatment liquid (when no second treatment liquid is added, it may simply be referred to as "treatment liquid"); The first additive is added so that the first treatment liquid has a pH of 10 to 13. [1A] Providing a steviol glycoside-containing solution containing a stevia extract; Adding an additive to the steviol glycoside-containing solution to prepare a treatment solution; The additive is added so that the treatment solution has a pH of 10 to 13. [2] The manufacturing method according to [1], wherein the first additive is an alkaline agent. [2A] The method according to [1A], wherein the additive is an alkaline agent. [3] The method according to [2] or [2A], wherein the alkaline agent comprises one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of alkali metal hydroxides, alkaline earth metal hydroxides, silicates, carbonates, and hydrogen carbonates. [4] The method according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the steviol glycoside composition contains one or more steviol glycosides selected from the group consisting of rebaudioside A, rebaudioside B, rebaudioside M, rebaudioside C, rebaudioside D, stevioside, rebaudioside F, dulcoside A, rebaudioside G, rebaudioside N, rubusoside, and steviolbioside. [5] The method according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the first processing liquid is held for 1 minute to 3 days after preparation of the first processing liquid. [5A] The method according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the treatment liquid is held for 1 minute to 3 days after preparation. [6] preparing a second processing liquid by adding a second additive to the first processing liquid, The method according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the second additive is added so that the second treatment liquid has a pH of 2 to 10. [6A] adding a second additive to the treatment liquid to prepare a second treatment liquid; The method according to any one of [1] to [5A], wherein the second additive is added so that the second treatment liquid has a pH of 2 to 10. [7] The manufacturing method according to [6], further comprising adding one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of aluminum sulfate, polyaluminum chloride, iron (III) chloride or its hydrate, polyacrylamide hydrolysate, alginic acid, chitin, and chitosan to the first treatment liquid and / or the second treatment liquid. [7A] The manufacturing method described in [6A], further comprising adding one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of aluminum sulfate, polyaluminum chloride, iron (III) chloride or its hydrate, polyacrylamide hydrolysate, alginic acid, chitin, and chitosan to the treatment solution and / or the second treatment solution. [8] Providing a steviol glycoside-containing solution containing a stevia extract; Adding a first additive to the steviol glycoside-containing solution to prepare a first treatment solution, A method for increasing a concentration of steviol glycoside in a solution containing steviol glycoside, comprising adding the first additive so that the first treatment liquid has a pH of 10 to 13. [8A] Providing a steviol glycoside-containing solution containing a stevia extract; Adding an additive to the steviol glycoside-containing solution to prepare a treatment solution; A method for increasing the concentration of steviol glycoside in a steviol glycoside-containing solution, comprising adding the additive so that the treatment solution has a pH of 10 to 13. [9] The method according to [8] or [8A], wherein the concentration of one or more steviol glycosides selected from the group consisting of rebaudioside A, rebaudioside C, stevioside, rebaudioside F, rebaudioside G and rubusoside is increased.

[10] A steviol glycoside composition produced by the method according to any one of [1] to [7A].

[11] A food or beverage comprising the steviol glycoside composition described in

[10] . Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, a novel method for producing a steviol glycoside composition can be provided. Also, according to the present invention, a method for increasing the concentration of a steviol glycoside composition in a steviol glycoside-containing solution can be provided. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows the change in concentration of steviol glycoside in a steviol glycoside-containing solution. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 shows the change in RebA concentration upon change from basic to neutral. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 shows changes in RebA concentration depending on the type of alkaline agent. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] The present invention will be described in detail below. The following embodiments are illustrative for explaining the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention to these embodiments. The present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention. All documents cited in this specification, as well as published publications, patent publications, and other patent documents, are incorporated herein by reference.

[0010] As used herein, "rebaudioside," "Reb," and "Reb." have the same meaning and all refer to "rebaudioside."

[0011] 1. Method for producing steviol glycoside composition The method for producing a steviol glycoside composition of the present invention (hereinafter also referred to as the "production method of the present invention") comprises preparing a steviol glycoside-containing solution containing a stevia extract (hereinafter also simply referred to as the "steviol glycoside-containing solution"), and adding a first additive to the steviol glycoside-containing solution to prepare a first treatment liquid, wherein the first additive is added so that the pH of the first treatment liquid is 10 to 13. In addition, the manufacturing method of the present invention includes preparing a steviol glycoside-containing solution containing a stevia extract, and adding an additive to the steviol glycoside-containing solution to prepare a treatment liquid, wherein the additive is added so that the treatment liquid has a pH of 10 to 13. According to the production method of the present invention, the concentration of a specific steviol glycoside in the resulting steviol glycoside composition can be increased by adjusting the pH of the steviol glycoside-containing solution to 10 to 13.

[0012] Stevia leaves contain a wide variety of components other than steviol glycosides, and when a steviol glycoside composition is prepared with stevia extract as the main component, the components other than steviol glycosides contained in the steviol glycoside composition are substantially stevia-derived components unless other components are added arbitrarily. Such stevia-derived components other than steviol glycosides include water-soluble components and insoluble components. Water-soluble components include polysaccharides such as water-soluble dietary fiber, secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, flavonoids and terpenoids, methanol, polyphenols, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, organic acids, water-soluble proteins, and various other glycosides. Insoluble components include insoluble polysaccharides including insoluble dietary fiber, insoluble proteins, and lipids. Without being bound by theory, it is believed that according to one embodiment of the production method of the present invention, steviol glycosides bound to some component derived from these stevia compounds are dissociated from the bond by increasing the pH, thereby increasing the amount of purified steviol glycosides and increasing their concentration in the final steviol glycoside composition.

[0013] In this specification, the increase in the concentration of steviol glycoside means that the concentration of steviol glycoside is increased compared to the concentration of steviol glycoside in a steviol glycoside composition obtained without adjusting the steviol glycoside-containing solution to a predetermined pH. In other words, the increase in concentration may be relative, and the concentration of steviol glycoside does not necessarily need to be equal to or higher than a specific value. In addition, the increase in the concentration of steviol glycoside can be expressed as an increase rate (%) based on the above-mentioned comparison control.

[0014] The concentration of steviol glycosides can be measured by methods using LC / MS or HPLC.

[0015] The steviol glycoside composition obtained by the production method of the present invention contains one or more steviol glycosides selected from the group consisting of rebaudioside A, rebaudioside B, rebaudioside M, rebaudioside C, rebaudioside D, stevioside, rebaudioside F, dulcoside A, rebaudioside G, rebaudioside N, rubusoside, and steviolbioside.

[0016] Furthermore, the steviol glycoside composition obtained by the production method of the present invention may further contain, in addition to the steviol glycosides listed above, one or more steviol glycosides selected from the group consisting of rebaudioside E, rebaudioside I, rebaudioside J, rebaudioside K, rebaudioside M, rebaudioside O, rebaudioside Q, rebaudioside R, dulcoside C, steviol, and steviol monoside.

[0017] The steviol glycoside composition obtained by the production method of the present invention has an increased concentration of one or more of the steviol glycosides listed above, selected from the group consisting of rebaudioside A, rebaudioside C, stevioside, rebaudioside F, rebaudioside G, and rubusoside.

[0018] In one embodiment of the present invention, the rate of increase in the concentration of rebaudioside A when the first treatment solution or the treatment solution is adjusted to a predetermined pH may be 101 to 150%, 101 to 140%, 103 to 140%, 105 to 140%, 110 to 140%, 115 to 140%, 120 to 140%, 121 to 140%, 122 to 140%, 123 to 140%, 124 to 140%, 125 to 140%, 126 to 140%, 127 to 140%, 128 to 140%, 129 to 140%, or 130 to 140%, etc.

[0019] In one embodiment of the present invention, the rate of increase in rebaudioside C concentration when the first treatment solution or the treatment solution is adjusted to a predetermined pH may be 101 to 170%, 101 to 165%, 101 to 160%, 105 to 160%, 110 to 160%, 115 to 160%, 120 to 160%, 125 to 160%, 130 to 160%, 131 to 160%, 132 to 160%, 133 to 160%, 134 to 160%, 135 to 160%, 136 to 160%, 137 to 160%, 138 to 160%, 139 to 160%, or 140 to 160%, etc.

[0020] In one embodiment of the present invention, the increase rate of the concentration of stevioside when the first treatment liquid or the treatment liquid is adjusted to a predetermined pH may be 101 to 200%, 101 to 190%, 101 to 185%, 101 to 180%, 110 to 180%, 120 to 180%, 125 to 180%, 130 to 180%, 135 to 180%, 140 to 180%, 145 to 180%, 150 to 180%, 151 to 180%, 152 to 180%, 153 to 180%, 154 to 180%, 155 to 180%, 156 to 180%, 157 to 180%, 158 to 180%, 159 to 180%, or 160% to 180%, etc.

[0021] In one embodiment of the present invention, the rate of increase in the concentration of rebaudioside F when the first treatment solution or the treatment solution is adjusted to a predetermined pH may be 101 to 150%, 101 to 140%, 103 to 140%, 105 to 140%, 110 to 140%, 115 to 140%, 120 to 140%, 121 to 140%, 122 to 140%, 123 to 140%, 124 to 140%, 125 to 140%, 126 to 140%, 127 to 140%, 128 to 140%, 129 to 140%, or 130 to 140%, etc.

[0022] In one embodiment of the present invention, the rate of increase in the concentration of rebaudioside G when the first treatment solution or the treatment solution is adjusted to a predetermined pH may be 101 to 350%, 101 to 340%, 101 to 330%, 110 to 330%, 120 to 330%, 130 to 330%, 140 to 330%, 150 to 330%, 160 to 330%, 170 to 330%, 180 to 330%, 190 to 330%, 200 to 330%, 210 to 330%, 220 to 330%, 230 to 330%, 240 to 330%, or 250 to 330%, etc.

[0023] In one embodiment of the present invention, the rate of increase in the concentration of rubusoside when the first treatment solution or the treatment solution is adjusted to a predetermined pH may be 101 to 700%, 101 to 690%, 101 to 680%, 101 to 670%, 110 to 670%, 120 to 670%, 130 to 670%, 140 to 670%, 150 to 670%, 160 to 670%, 170 to 670%, 180 to 670%, 190 to 670%, or 200 to 670%, etc.

[0024] In one embodiment of the present invention, the increase rate of the concentration of each of the above steviol glycosides is measured when a steviol glycoside-containing solution containing a stevia extract obtained by extracting the raw material stevia dried leaves (moisture content: 3 to 4% by weight) once with 30 times the amount of ion-exchanged water (60°C ± 5°C) is used.

[0025] (A) Preparing a steviol glycoside-containing solution containing stevia extract The production method of the present invention includes preparing a steviol glycoside-containing solution containing a stevia extract. For example, a method for obtaining a stevia extract includes extracting dried leaves of a stevia plant with an aqueous solvent to obtain an extract (extract solution).

[0026] In this specification, the dried leaves of the stevia plant refer to fresh leaves of the stevia plant that have been dried to reduce the moisture content. The moisture content of the dried leaves of the stevia plant is preferably 1 to 10% by weight, more preferably 2 to 8% by weight, and particularly preferably 3 to 4% by weight.

[0027] Extraction of steviol glycosides from dried leaves can be carried out using a solvent such as water, alcohol, or a mixture thereof. Preferred extraction solvents include ion-exchanged water, pure water (e.g., Milli-Q water), and an aqueous ethanol solution. During extraction, the dried leaves may or may not be crushed. If crushing is required, crushing may be performed using a ball mill or the like. Alternatively, extraction may be performed using a kneader extractor (SKN-R100, manufactured by Sanyu Kiki Co., Ltd.) or the like.

[0028] During extraction, steviol glycosides can be extracted more efficiently by heating the aqueous solvent. The temperature during extraction may be, for example, 25 to 80° C., 30 to 75° C., 35 to 70° C., 40 to 65° C., or 45 to 70° C., and is preferably 45 to 70° C. In this specification, the lower and upper limits of the temperature may be, for example, temperatures within ±1° C., ±2° C., ±3° C., ±4° C., or ±5° C. of each temperature.

[0029] Extraction may be performed not only once, but also multiple times. By performing extraction multiple times, more steviol glycosides contained in the leaves can be extracted. From the viewpoint of efficiency, extraction is preferably performed about twice.

[0030] In one embodiment of the present invention, the steviol glycoside-containing solution may be the stevia extract itself obtained by the above-mentioned method, or may be a solution containing a steviol glycoside composition produced by any other method (e.g., a method using steviol glycoside hydrolase) added thereto, so long as the solution contains a stevia extract.

[0031] In one embodiment of the present invention, the obtained stevia extract may be one that has been subjected to solid-liquid separation treatment. The solid-liquid separation treatment is not particularly limited as long as the solid and liquid are sufficiently separated, but examples thereof include treatment using a centrifuge or a filter press, and gravity filtration using a filter or mesh.

[0032] The solid-liquid separation treatment may use a plurality of means. For example, a first solid-liquid separation treatment may be followed by a second solid-liquid separation treatment.

[0033] (B) adding a first additive or additives to the steviol glycoside-containing solution to prepare a first treatment solution or treatment solution. The production method of the present invention includes preparing a first treatment liquid by adding a first additive to the steviol glycoside-containing solution prepared by the above method (A). The production method of the present invention also includes preparing a treatment liquid by adding an additive to the steviol glycoside-containing solution prepared by the above method (A). In one embodiment of the present invention, the first additive or the additive is an alkaline agent. Examples of alkaline agents include alkali metal hydroxides, alkaline earth metal hydroxides, silicates, carbonates, and hydrogen carbonates.

[0034] Examples of the alkali metal hydroxide include sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide. Examples of the alkaline earth metal hydroxide include calcium hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide. Examples of the silicate include sodium metasilicate, sodium orthosilicate, potassium metasilicate, and potassium orthosilicate. Examples of the carbonate include sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate. Examples of the hydrogen carbonate include sodium hydrogen carbonate and potassium hydrogen carbonate. Among them, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, and calcium hydroxide are particularly preferred. In addition, these alkaline agents may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

[0035] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first additive or additives are added to the steviol glycoside-containing solution so that the first treatment liquid or treatment liquid has a pH of 10 to 13. That is, the amount of the first additive or additives added is not particularly limited as long as the pH of the first treatment liquid or treatment liquid is within the above range, and the first additive or additives may be added while appropriately adjusting the pH of the first treatment liquid or treatment liquid to 10 to 13 depending on the amount of the steviol glycoside-containing solution.

[0036] Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the pH of the first treatment liquid or the treatment liquid is pH 10 to 13, pH 10 to 12.5, pH 10.1 to 12.5, pH 10.2 to 12.5, pH 10.3 to 12.5, pH 10.4 to 12.5, pH 10.5 to 12.5, pH 10.6 to 12.5, pH 10.7 to 12.5, pH 10.8 to 12.5, pH 10.9 to 12.5, pH 11 to 13, pH 11 to 12.5, pH 11.1 to 12.5, pH 11.2 to 12.5, pH 11. The pH may be from 1 to 12.5, pH11.3 to 12.5, pH11.4 to 12.5, pH11.5 to 12.5, pH11.6 to 12.5, pH11.7 to 12.5, pH11.8 to 12.5, pH11.9 to 12.5, pH11 to 12.2, pH11.1 to 12.2, pH11.2 to 12.2, pH11.3 to 12.2, pH11.4 to 12.2, pH11.5 to 12.2, pH11.6 to 12.2, pH11.7 to 12.2, pH11.8 to 12.2, or pH11.9 to 12.2, etc.

[0037] The temperature of the steviol glycoside-containing solution when the first additive or additive is added may be 1 to 60°C, 5 to 60°C, 10 to 60°C, 15 to 60°C, 20 to 60°C, 25 to 60°C, 30 to 60°C, 40 to 60°C, 50 to 60°C, 1 to 50°C, 5 to 50°C, 10 to 50°C, 15 to 50°C, 20 to 50°C, 25 to 50°C, 30 to 50°C, 1 to 40°C, 5 to 40°C, 10 to 40°C, 15 to 40°C, 20 to 40°C, 25 to 40°C, 30 to 40°C, 1 to 30°C, 5 to 30°C, 10 to 30°C, 15 to 30°C, or 20 to 30°C, etc.

[0038] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first processing liquid or processing liquid may be held for a predetermined time before preparing a second processing liquid described later. In this specification, holding the first processing liquid or processing liquid means maintaining a predetermined pH value or range from the time when the first processing liquid or processing liquid is prepared until the second additive is added to prepare the second processing liquid described later. When holding the first processing liquid or processing liquid, it may be held without any treatment or may be held after some treatment.

[0039] Examples of the first treatment solution or the time for holding the treatment solution include 1 minute to 3 days, 1 minute to 2 days, 1 minute to 24 hours, 1 minute to 12 hours, 1 minute to 10 hours, 1 minute to 8 hours, 1 minute to 6 hours, 1 minute to 4 hours, 1 minute to 3 hours, 1 minute to 2 hours, 2 minutes to 2 hours, 3 minutes to 2 hours, 4 minutes to 2 hours, 5 minutes to 2 hours, 10 minutes to 2 hours, 15 minutes to 2 hours, 20 minutes to 2 hours, 25 minutes to 2 hours, 30 minutes to 2 hours, 35 minutes to 2 hours, 40 minutes to 2 hours, 45 minutes to 2 hours, 50 minutes to 2 hours, 55 minutes to 2 hours, or 1 to 2 hours. According to the production method of the present invention, the concentration of a specific steviol glycoside in the steviol glycoside composition is increased by adding the first additive or additive to the steviol glycoside-containing solution to adjust the pH to a range of 10 to 13. The first treatment solution or the treatment solution once adjusted to a pH range of 10 to 13 is stable without decreasing the increased concentration of steviol glycosides even if it is subsequently held until the second additive is added.

[0040] The temperature of the first treatment liquid or the temperature at which the treatment liquid is held may be, for example, room temperature (about 25° C.).

[0041] (C) preparing a second processing liquid by adding a second additive to the first processing liquid or to the processing liquid; The manufacturing method of the present invention further includes preparing a second processing liquid by adding a second additive to the first processing liquid. The manufacturing method of the present invention further includes preparing a second processing liquid by adding a second additive to the processing liquid. In one embodiment of the present invention, the second additive is an additive having an effect of lowering pH. Any additive having an effect of lowering pH can be used as such an additive, and examples of the additive include organic pH adjusters such as citric acid, lactic acid, and acetic acid, and inorganic pH adjusters such as phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and carbon dioxide. Compounds such as aluminum sulfate, polyaluminum chloride, and iron (III) chloride or hydrates thereof, which will be described later, may also be used. These second additives may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

[0042] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the second additive is added to the first treatment liquid or treatment liquid so that the second treatment liquid has a pH of 2 to 10. That is, the amount of the second additive added is not particularly limited as long as the pH of the second treatment liquid is within the above range, and the second additive may be added while appropriately adjusting the pH of the second treatment liquid to 2 to 10 according to the amount of the first treatment liquid or treatment liquid. In addition, when a compound such as aluminum sulfate, polyaluminum chloride, iron(III) chloride or a hydrate thereof is used, the amount added may be adjusted taking into consideration the aggregation reaction described below.

[0043] According to the production method of the present invention, the concentration of a specific steviol glycoside in the steviol glycoside composition is increased by adding a first additive or an additive to a steviol glycoside-containing solution to adjust the pH to the range of 10 to 13. Even if the first treatment solution or treatment solution once adjusted to a pH range of 10 to 13 is then adjusted to a pH range of 2 to 10 by adding a second additive, the increased concentration of steviol glycoside remains stable without decreasing.

[0044] In one embodiment of the present invention, the second treatment liquid may have a pH of 2 to 10, pH 2.5 to 9.5, pH 3 to 9, pH 3.5 to 8.5, pH 4 to 8, pH 4.5 to 8, or pH 5 to 8, or the like.

[0045] The temperature of the first processing liquid or the processing liquid when the second additive is added may be, for example, room temperature (about 25° C.).

[0046] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first processing liquid or processing liquid and / or the second processing liquid may further contain one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of aluminum sulfate, polyaluminum chloride, iron (III) chloride or its hydrate, polyacrylamide hydrolysate, alginic acid, chitin, and chitosan. These compounds may be contained in one or more types, or may be contained in combination of two or more types. In addition, these compounds may be added during the above step "B", may be added during this step "C" as described above, or may be added during the above step "B" and this step "C".

[0047] The amount of the compound to be added is not particularly limited as long as it is an amount that causes an agglutination reaction in the first treatment liquid or the treatment liquid and / or the second treatment liquid, but for example, it can be added in an amount of 3.0 to 50% by weight based on the soluble solid content contained in the treatment liquid. For example, in the case of iron (III) chloride hexahydrate, it can be added in an amount equivalent to 15 to 40% by weight of the solid content in the treatment liquid, preferably 18 to 38% by weight, more preferably 20 to 35% by weight. In the case of a 0.5% (w / v) chitosan solution, it can be added in an amount equivalent to 3.0 to 10% by weight of the soluble solid content contained in the treatment liquid, preferably 4.0 to 8.0% by weight, more preferably 4.5 to 7.0% by weight.

[0048] The pH during the flocculation treatment can be appropriately selected depending on the type of the compound so as to optimize the flocculation. In one embodiment of the present invention, the pH of the first treatment liquid or the treatment liquid and / or the second treatment liquid during the flocculation treatment may be pH 2 to 13, pH 3 to 13, pH 4 to 13, pH 5 to 13, or pH 6 to 13, etc.

[0049] The aggregation treatment may be carried out at room temperature (about 25° C.) without heating or cooling.

[0050] In one embodiment of the present invention, the aggregates contained in the first treatment liquid or the treatment liquid and / or the second treatment liquid may be removed after the above-mentioned aggregation treatment and before any resin purification treatment described below. The removal of the aggregates can be performed by a known method such as filtration.

[0051] In the production method of the present invention, the second treatment liquid may further be subjected to the following treatments (D) to (F) if desired.

[0052] (D) Resin purification treatment In one embodiment of the present invention, the second treatment liquid prepared through each of the above treatments may be treated with a hydrophobic porous resin. Steviol glycoside is amphiphilic having a hydrophilic group and a hydrophobic group in its molecular structure, and has a molecular weight of about 1,000. It is also known that it is stable at pH 2.5 to 9.0 and does not ionize even in acidic or alkaline conditions. On the other hand, the first treatment liquid or treatment liquid that has been subjected to the coagulation treatment contains a large amount of components other than steviol glycoside. Without being bound by theory, such components include components with molecular weights different from those of steviol glycoside, such as iron ions, and components that ionize, such as amino acids, and it is believed that these components can be removed by treatment with a hydrophobic porous resin.

[0053] Steviol glycosides having a hydrophobic steviol skeleton are hydrophobically bound to the synthetic resin and captured. On the other hand, highly hydrophilic impurities do not bind to the resin and are transferred to the through fraction and removed, so it is believed that the purity of steviol glycosides can be improved by loading the treated solution that has undergone the coagulation treatment into a column packed with the above-mentioned resin and then washing with water. In addition, the bond between the functional group of steviol glycoside and the synthetic resin is dissociated by a low-polarity solvent, which has the advantage that steviol glycosides can be finally recovered in high yield.

[0054] The hydrophobic porous resin used in the manufacturing method according to one embodiment of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a porous resin with low affinity to water, but for example, a porous resin of one or more hydrophobic resins selected from a copolymer of styrene and divinylbenzene, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, poly(meth)acrylonitrile, polyamide and polycarbonate is preferred. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is preferred that the copolymer of styrene and divinylbenzene is not subjected to an introduction treatment of an ion exchange group (i.e., does not have an ion exchange group). In general, when manufacturing an ion exchange resin, styrene and divinylbenzene are copolymerized to form a three-dimensional network structure, and then an ion exchange group is introduced into the resin, but "no introduction treatment of an ion exchange group is performed" means that such treatment is not performed.

[0055] In one embodiment of the present invention, the hydrophobic porous resin has a hydrophobic group, and the hydrophobic group includes one or more selected from an aryl group, an alkyl group, an alkylsilyl group, an ester group, and an epoxy group. In one embodiment of the present invention, as long as one or more hydrophobic groups selected from these are included, other hydrophobic groups may be further included. Examples of the aryl group include a phenyl group, a benzyl group, a tolyl group, and a xylyl group, and examples of the alkyl group include a C1-20 alkyl group, such as a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group, a butyl group, a pentyl group, and an octadecyl group.

[0056] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the hydrophobic porous resin has a most frequent pore radius of 10 to 200 Å. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the most frequent pore radius is 10 to 150 Å, 15 to 100 Å, or 20 to 80 Å. It is believed that such pore characteristics allow steviol glycosides to be efficiently adsorbed into the pores and efficiently separated from other components.

[0057] In addition, before the treatment with the hydrophobic porous resin, the treatment liquid may be further treated with an anion exchange resin. By performing a pretreatment with an anion exchange resin, components that bind to the hydrophobic resin, such as dyes and catechins, can be effectively removed. Such an anion exchange resin is not particularly limited, but for example, a basic anion exchange resin can be mentioned. As such a basic anion exchange resin, a weakly basic anion exchange resin having a primary or secondary amino group introduced as a functional group, or a strongly basic anion exchange resin having a quaternary ammonium group (for example, a trimethylammonium group or a dimethylethanolammonium group) can be used.

[0058] (E) Concentration treatment The solution that has been subjected to the resin purification treatment may be further subjected to a concentration treatment to remove the aqueous solvent. Such a treatment is not particularly limited, but examples thereof include a method of evaporating the aqueous solvent by heating, and a method of removing the aqueous solvent by drying under reduced pressure.

[0059] (F) Optional Additional Steps A steviol glycoside composition with high purity (purity of 95% or more) can also be produced by adding a crystallization step after the production method of the present invention.

[0060] 2. Method for increasing the concentration of steviol glycosides in a steviol glycoside-containing solution The present invention also relates to a method for increasing the concentration of steviol glycoside in a steviol glycoside-containing solution (hereinafter also referred to as the "method of the present invention"). The method of the present invention includes preparing a steviol glycoside-containing solution containing a stevia extract, and adding a first additive to the steviol glycoside-containing solution to prepare a first treatment liquid, and the first additive is added so that the first treatment liquid has a pH of 10 to 13. The method of the present invention also includes preparing a steviol glycoside-containing solution containing a stevia extract, and adding an additive to the steviol glycoside-containing solution to prepare a treatment solution, wherein the additive is added so that the treatment solution has a pH of 10 to 13. The method of the present invention also increases the concentration of one or more steviol glycosides selected from the group consisting of rebaudioside A, rebaudioside C, stevioside, rebaudioside F, rebaudioside G, and rubusoside. The method of the present invention has substantially the same configuration as the method of producing a steviol glycoside composition of the present invention. Therefore, the explanation of "1. Method of producing a steviol glycoside composition" above also applies to the method of the present invention.

[0061] 3. Steviol glycoside composition The present invention also relates to a steviol glycoside composition produced by the production method of the present invention (hereinafter also referred to as the "steviol glycoside composition of the present invention"). In one embodiment of the present invention, the steviol glycoside composition may be used as a sweetener composition.

[0062] When used as a sweetener composition, the steviol glycoside composition of the present invention may contain a sweetener other than steviol glycoside. Examples of such sweeteners include natural sweeteners such as fructose, sugar, fructose glucose liquid sugar, glucose, maltose, high fructose liquid sugar, sugar alcohol, oligosaccharides, honey, sugarcane juice (brown sugar syrup), starch syrup, Monk fruit powder, Monk fruit extract, licorice powder, licorice extract, Thaumatococcus daniellii seed powder, and Thaumatococcus daniellii seed extract, and artificial sweeteners such as acesulfame potassium, sucralose, neotame, aspartame, and saccharin. Among them, it is preferable to use natural sweeteners from the viewpoint of providing a refreshing taste, easy drinking, natural taste, and moderate richness, and in particular, fructose, glucose, maltose, sucrose, and sugar are preferably used. These sweeteners may be contained only one type, or may contain a plurality of types.

[0063] 4. Food and drink containing steviol glycoside composition The present invention also relates to a food or drink containing the steviol glycoside composition produced by the production method of the present invention (hereinafter, also referred to as "food or drink of the present invention"). The food or drink of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it contains the steviol glycoside composition of the present invention. Here, the food or drink means a beverage and a food. In a preferred embodiment, the food or drink is a beverage.

[0064] The amount of the steviol glycoside of the present invention contained in the food or drink of the present invention varies depending on the specific food or drink. In the case of beverages, it is preferably approximately 1 mass ppm to 800 mass ppm. For example, 20 mass ppm to 750 mass ppm, 20 mass ppm to 700 mass ppm, 20 mass ppm to 650 mass ppm, 20 mass ppm to 600 mass ppm, 20 mass ppm to 550 mass ppm, 25 mass ppm to 550 mass ppm, 30 mass ppm to 550 mass ppm, 35 mass ppm to 550 mass ppm, 40 mass ppm to 550 mass ppm, 45 mass ppm to 550 mass ppm, 50 mass ppm to 550 mass ppm, 55 mass ppm to 550 mass ppm, 20 mass ppm to 540 mass ppm, 25 mass ppm to 540 mass ppm, 30 mass ppm to 540 mass ppm, 35 mass ppm to 540 mass ppm, 40 mass ppm to 540 mass ppm, 45 mass ppm to 540 mass ppm, 50 mass ppm to 540 mass ppm, 55 mass ppm to 540 mass ppm, 20 mass ppm to 530 mass ppm, 25 mass ppm to 530 mass ppm, 30 mass ppm to 530 mass ppm, 35 mass ppm to 530 mass ppm, 40 mass ppm to 530 mass ppm, 45 mass ppm to 530 mass ppm, 50 mass ppm to 530 mass ppm, 55 mass ppm to 530 mass ppm, 20 mass ppm to 520 mass ppm, 25 mass ppm to 520 mass ppm, 30 mass ppm to 520 mass ppm, 35 mass ppm to 520 mass ppm, 40 mass ppm to 520 mass ppm, 45 mass ppm to 520 mass ppm, 50 mass ppm to 520 mass ppm, 55 mass ppm to 520 mass ppm, 20 mass ppm to 510 mass ppm, 25 mass ppm to 510 mass ppm, 30 mass ppm to 510 mass ppm, 35 mass ppm to 510 mass ppm, 40 mass ppm to 510 mass ppm, 45 mass ppm to 510 mass ppm, 50 mass ppm to 510 mass ppm, 55 mass ppm to 510 mass ppm, 20 mass ppm to 505 mass ppm, 25 mass ppm to 505 mass ppm, 30 mass ppm to 505 mass ppm, 35 mass ppm to 505 mass ppm, 40 mass ppm to 505 mass ppm, 45 mass ppm to 505 mass ppm, 50 mass ppm to 505 mass ppm, 55 mass ppm to 505 mass ppm, 20 mass ppm to 500 mass ppm,25 mass ppm to 500 mass ppm, 30 mass ppm to 500 mass ppm, 35 mass ppm to 500 mass ppm, 40 mass ppm to 500 mass ppm, 45 mass ppm to 500 mass ppm, 50 mass ppm to 500 mass ppm, 55 mass ppm to 500 mass ppm, 20 mass ppm to 495 mass ppm, 25 mass ppm ppm to 495 mass ppm, 30 mass ppm to 495 mass ppm, 35 mass ppm to 495 mass ppm, 40 mass ppm to 495 mass ppm, 45 mass ppm to 495 mass ppm, 50 mass ppm to 495 mass ppm, 55 mass ppm to 495 mass ppm, 20 mass ppm to 490 mass ppm, 25 mass ppm to 4 The content may be 90 ppm by mass, 30 ppm by mass to 490 ppm by mass, 35 ppm by mass to 490 ppm by mass, 40 ppm by mass to 490 ppm by mass, 45 ppm by mass to 490 ppm by mass, 50 ppm by mass to 490 ppm by mass, 55 ppm by mass to 490 ppm by mass, 100 ppm by mass to 400 ppm by mass, 150 ppm by mass to 400 ppm by mass, 200 ppm by mass to 400 ppm by mass, 250 ppm by mass to 400 ppm by mass, 300 ppm by mass to 400 ppm by mass, 100 ppm by mass to 150 ppm by mass, 100 ppm by mass to 200 ppm by mass, 100 ppm by mass to 250 ppm by mass, or 100 ppm by mass to 300 ppm by mass. By setting the content within this range, there is an advantage that an appropriate sweetness can be imparted to the food or drink. In this specification, "ppm" means "ppm by mass" unless otherwise specified.

[0065] The food and drink of the present invention may further contain a sweetener other than steviol glycoside. Examples of such sweeteners include natural sweeteners such as fructose, sugar, fructose glucose liquid sugar, glucose, maltose, sucrose, high fructose liquid sugar, sugar alcohol, oligosaccharides, honey, sugarcane juice (brown sugar syrup), starch syrup, Monk fruit powder, Monk fruit extract, licorice powder, licorice extract, Thaumatococcus daniellii seed powder, and Thaumatococcus daniellii seed extract, and artificial sweeteners such as acesulfame potassium, sucralose, neotame, aspartame, and saccharin. Among them, it is preferable to use natural sweeteners from the viewpoint of providing a refreshing taste, easy drinking, natural taste, and moderate richness, and in particular, fructose, glucose, maltose, sucrose, and sugar are preferably used. These sweeteners may be used alone or in combination.

[0066] Regarding the content of sweeteners other than steviol glycosides, in the case of high-intensity sweeteners (e.g., mogroside V, xylitol, and artificial sweeteners), the composition ratio of the steviol glycoside composition of the present invention to the sweeteners other than steviol glycosides may be 1:99 to 99:1, 5:99 to 95:5, 10:90 to 90:10, 15:85 to 85:15, 20:80 to 80:20, 25:75 to 75:25, 30:70 to 70:30, 35:65 to 65:35, 40:60 to 60:40, 45:65 to 65:45, or 50:50 by weight. When the steviol glycoside composition of the present invention and a low-intensity sweetener (e.g., sucrose or fructose glucose syrup) are contained, the composition ratio of the steviol glycoside composition of the present invention to the low-intensity sweetener may be 1:1000 to 1:100, 1:800 to 1:100, 1:700 to 1:100, 1:600 ​​to 1:100, 1:500 to 1:100, 1:400 to 1:100, 1:300 to 1:100, or 1:200 to 1:100 by weight.

[0067] The foods of the present invention are not particularly limited, but examples thereof include confectionery, bread, flour, noodles, rice, processed agricultural and forestry foods, processed livestock products, processed marine products, milk and dairy products, oils and fats, processed oils and fats, seasonings, or other food ingredients.

[0068] The beverage of the present invention is not particularly limited, but examples thereof include carbonated beverages, non-carbonated beverages, alcoholic beverages, non-alcoholic beverages, beer-flavored beverages such as beer and non-alcoholic beer, coffee beverages, tea beverages, cocoa beverages, nutritional beverages, functional beverages, etc.

[0069] The beverage of the present invention may be prepared as a packaged beverage that has been heat sterilized and packed in a container. The container is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include PET bottles, aluminum cans, steel cans, paper packs, chilled cups, bottles, and the like. When heat sterilization is performed, the type is not particularly limited, and it can be performed using a conventional method such as UHT sterilization and retort sterilization. The temperature of the heat sterilization step is not particularly limited, and is, for example, 65 to 130°C, preferably 85 to 120°C, for 10 to 40 minutes. However, as long as a sterilization value equivalent to the above conditions is obtained, sterilization at an appropriate temperature for a few seconds, for example, 5 to 30 seconds, is not a problem.

[0070] The method for producing the food or drink of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as the food or drink containing each of the above-mentioned components can be obtained. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method for producing the food or drink of the present invention is provided, which includes obtaining the steviol glycoside composition of the present invention and adding the steviol glycoside composition to the food or drink or its raw materials. The steviol glycoside composition of the present invention is obtained as described above in "1. Method for producing steviol glycoside composition". The steviol glycoside composition of the present invention can be added to the food or drink or its raw materials at any step in the production process of the food or drink, and may be added, for example, when mixing the raw materials of the food or drink or when making a final adjustment to the taste of the food or drink. EXAMPLES

[0071] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples, but the content of the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0072] <Production Example> 1.Extraction / solid-liquid separation Ion-exchanged water in an amount 15 times the amount of dried stevia leaves (water content: 3 to 4% by weight) was heated to 60°C ± 5°C, and the dried stevia leaves were immersed in the water. Then, extraction was performed for 60 minutes while stirring with a stirring rod at 8 rpm in a kneader extractor (SKN-R100, manufactured by Sanyu Kiki Co., Ltd.). Next, the mixture was filtered through 18 mesh and 140 mesh meshes, cooled in a heat exchanger using cold water, and the filtrate was subjected to solid-liquid separation in a disk-type centrifuge (9150 rpm (11601G), 24 L / min) to obtain a primary extract. Meanwhile, the filtered leaves were extracted again under the same conditions, and a transparent secondary extract was obtained by solid-liquid separation, which was added to the primary extract to prepare a solution containing a steviol glycoside composition.

[0073] 2.Agglutination A quantity of Ca(OH)2 (calculated from Brix (soluble solids concentration)) equivalent to 16.16% of the soluble solids in the steviol glycoside-containing solution was added to the steviol glycoside-containing solution, and the prepared first treatment solution (treatment solution) was stirred for 15 minutes. Then, a quantity of FeCl3·6H2O equivalent to 28.28% of the soluble solids in the steviol glycoside-containing solution was added to the first treatment solution (treatment solution), the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes, and the pH was adjusted to 7 with citric acid to prepare a second treatment solution, after which a volume (mL) of 0.5% (w / v) chitosan solution equivalent to 5.63 times the soluble solids (g) in the first treatment solution (treatment solution) was further added. This mixture was stirred vigorously for 3 minutes, weakly for 2 minutes, and then left to stand for 10 minutes. Then, the electrically neutral coagulated precipitate was removed by centrifugation. As a result, the second treatment solution was clarified.

[0074] 3. Resin Purification Resin purification was carried out by using (i) an anion exchange resin and (ii) a hydrophobic porous resin (one in which no ion exchange groups had been introduced). (i) Purification using an anion exchange resin A column was filled with a highly porous basic anion exchange resin (manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation), and the second treatment liquid after flocculation and separation was poured into the column for purification. After the second treatment liquid after flocculation and separation was poured into the column, it was pushed out with ion exchange water in an amount twice the volume of the column, and a solution containing the purified steviol glycoside composition was recovered. This purification removed black impurities and colored components from the treatment liquid.

[0075] (ii) Purification using hydrophobic porous resin A column was filled with a hydrophobic porous resin (manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation), and the sample purified using the anion exchange resin (i) was added to the column for purification. The hydrophobic porous resin used was a copolymer of styrene and divinylbenzene, which had no ion exchange groups and had a most frequent pore radius of 45 Å. After the solution purified in (i) above was added to the column, the column was washed with a 0.01M aqueous citric acid solution in an amount three times the volume of the column and a 0.01M aqueous sodium hydroxide solution in an amount three times the volume of the column. The steviol glycoside composition was then eluted with a 60% aqueous ethanol solution in an amount four times the volume of the column and collected.

[0076] 4. Evaporation and concentration The solution was evaporated and concentrated to remove ethanol using a centrifugal thin-film vacuum evaporator (Evaporol, manufactured by Okawara Seisakusho Co., Ltd.) Water remained even after the evaporation and concentration process, and the steviol glycoside composition was in a liquid state.

[0077] <Example 1> The pH dependence of steviol glycoside concentration in a steviol glycoside-containing solution containing stevia extract was evaluated.

[0078] A steviol glycoside-containing solution was prepared in the same manner as in "1. Extraction and solid-liquid separation" in the above <Production Example>, except that the amount of ion-exchanged water was 30 times the amount of dried stevia leaves (water content: 3-4% by weight) and the number of extractions was one. The pH of the steviol glycoside-containing solution was measured and found to be 5.7. Thereafter, NaOH (Nacalai Tesque, Inc., 4 mol / L sodium hydroxide solution) or citric acid (FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd., product number 038-06925, purity 99.5% or higher) was added to the steviol glycoside-containing solution, and the pH was changed stepwise from about 3 to about 12, and the concentrations of rebaudioside A, rebaudioside D, and rebaudioside M at each pH were measured. Next, citric acid was added to the steviol glycoside-containing solution whose pH had been adjusted to about 12, the pH was lowered to about 7, and the concentration of rebaudioside A was measured again. Figure 1 shows the changes in concentration of the above three types of steviol glycosides when the pH was gradually changed up to about 12, and Figure 2 shows the change in the content of rebaudioside A when the pH was then lowered to about 7. The concentration of each steviol glycoside was determined by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC / MSMS) under the measurement conditions shown in Table 1 below.

[0079] [Table 1]

[0080] As shown in Figure 1, the concentration of rebaudioside A increased around pH 9, and then increased significantly at a pH of about 12. On the other hand, no increase or decrease in the concentrations of rebaudioside D and rebaudioside M was observed when the pH was changed to the basic side. These results confirmed a pH-dependent increase in the concentration of rebaudioside A in the steviol glycoside-containing solution.

[0081] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, no significant change was observed in the concentration of rebaudioside A in the steviol glycoside-containing solution when the pH was increased to about 12 and then decreased to about 7 with citric acid. This result confirmed that rebaudioside A remained stable in the steviol glycoside-containing solution even if the pH was once increased to about 12 and then decreased to the neutral range again.

[0082] <Example 2> Regarding rebaudioside A, whose concentration was confirmed to increase in the steviol glycoside-containing solution in Example 1, an evaluation was conducted to determine whether the increase in concentration varies depending on the type of alkaline agent.

[0083] A steviol glycoside-containing solution was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 above. The pH of the steviol glycoside-containing solution was measured and found to be 5.8. Next, the following four samples were prepared by changing the type of alkaline agent, and the pH was changed to the basic side. The pH of each sample after pH adjustment is shown in Table 2. Sample 1: No alkaline agent (no change in pH) Sample 2: NaOH (Nacalai Tesque, Inc., 4 mol / L sodium hydroxide solution) Sample 3: KOH (Nacalai Tesque, Inc., 1 mol / L potassium hydroxide solution) Sample 4: Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) (Kanto Chemical Co., Ltd., product number 58024-17, purity 99.0% or higher) Thereafter, for each of the pH-adjusted Samples 1 to 4, the concentration of rebaudioside A was measured in the same manner as in Example 1. The results are shown in FIG.

[0084] [Table 2]

[0085] As shown in Figure 3, the concentration of rebaudioside A increased significantly in Sample 2 (NaOH) and Sample 3 (KOH), in which the pH was adjusted to about 12, compared to Sample 1, in which the pH was not changed from 5.8. This result confirmed that the increase in rebaudioside A concentration was dependent on the pH, regardless of the type of alkaline agent.

[0086] <Example 3> To investigate the manufacturing parameters in the industrial production of steviol glycosides, the change in steviol glycoside concentration was evaluated when changing pH and retention time.

[0087] A steviol glycoside-containing solution was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 above. Next, the pH of the steviol glycoside-containing solution was adjusted to 9, 10, 11, 11.8, 12, 12.2, and 12.5 using NaOH, and the samples adjusted to each pH were kept at room temperature (about 25°C) for the time shown in Table 3 while maintaining the pH. Thereafter, the pH of each sample was adjusted to about 7 using citric acid, and the concentration of steviol glycoside was measured in the same manner as in Example 1. The increase rate of the concentration of steviol glycoside in the samples adjusted to each pH is shown in Tables 4 to 9, based on the sample immediately after (0 minutes) after the pH was adjusted to each specified value. Table 4 shows the increase rate of the concentration of rebaudioside A, Table 5 shows rebaudioside C, Table 6 shows stevioside, Table 7 shows rebaudioside F, Table 8 shows rebaudioside G, and Table 9 shows rubusoside.

[0088] [Table 3] [Table 4] [Table 5] [Table 6] [Table 7] [Table 8] [Table 9]

[0089] As shown in Tables 4 to 9, it was confirmed that the increased concentration of steviol glycosides remained stable in the solution regardless of the pH and retention time. In addition, a large increase in concentration was observed in the samples adjusted to pH 10 to 13 for all of the above steviol glycosides.

Claims

1. Providing a steviol glycoside-containing solution containing a stevia extract; Adding an additive to the steviol glycoside-containing solution to prepare a treatment solution; adding a second additive to the treatment liquid without filtering and / or centrifuging the treatment liquid to prepare a second treatment liquid; and subjecting the second treatment liquid to one or more treatments selected from the group consisting of filtration, resin purification, concentration, and crystallization; The additive is added so that the treatment liquid has a pH of 11 to 12.5; The second additive is added so that the second treatment liquid has a pH of 2 to 10.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the additive is an alkaline agent.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the alkaline agent comprises one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of alkali metal hydroxides, alkaline earth metal hydroxides, silicates, carbonates, and hydrogen carbonates.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the steviol glycoside composition comprises one or more steviol glycosides selected from the group consisting of rebaudioside A, rebaudioside B, rebaudioside M, rebaudioside C, rebaudioside D, stevioside, rebaudioside F, dulcoside A, rebaudioside G, rebaudioside N, rubusoside, and steviolbioside.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the treatment liquid is held for 1 minute to 3 days after preparation.

6. The production method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising adding one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of aluminum sulfate, polyaluminum chloride, iron (III) chloride or a hydrate thereof, polyacrylamide hydrolysate, alginic acid, chitin, and chitosan to the treatment solution and / or the second treatment solution.

7. Providing a steviol glycoside-containing solution containing a stevia extract; Adding an additive to the steviol glycoside-containing solution to prepare a treatment solution; adding a second additive to the treatment liquid without filtering and / or centrifuging the treatment liquid to prepare a second treatment liquid; and subjecting the second treatment liquid to one or more treatments selected from the group consisting of filtration, resin purification, concentration, and crystallization; The additive is added so that the treatment liquid has a pH of 11 to 12.5; A method for increasing a concentration of steviol glycoside in a solution containing steviol glycoside, comprising adding the second additive so that the second treatment liquid has a pH of 2 to 10.

8. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the concentration of one or more steviol glycosides selected from the group consisting of rebaudioside A, rebaudioside C, stevioside, rebaudioside F, rebaudioside G, and rubusoside is increased.

9. A method for producing a food or beverage, comprising adding a steviol glycoside composition obtained by the production method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 to a food or beverage or a raw material thereof.

Images