The present invention relates to a method for increasing the degree of glycosylation of a composition comprising steviol glycosides, which method comprises:

a. contacting said composition comprising steviol glycosides with a recombinant microorganism, a cell free extract derived from such a microorganism or an enzyme preparation derived from either thereof; and b. thereby to increase the degree of glycosylation of the composition comprising steviol glycosides, wherein the recombinant microorganism comprises one or more nucleotide sequence(s) encoding: a polypeptide having ent-copalyl pyrophosphate synthase activity;a polypeptide having ent-Kaurene synthase activity; a polypeptide having ent-Kaurene oxidase activity; a polypeptide having kaurenoic acid 13-hydroxylase activity; and one or more polypeptides having UDP-glucosyltransferase activity whereby expression of the nucleotide sequence(s) confer(s) on the microorganism the ability to produce at least one steviol glycoside. The present invention also relates to a composition comprising steviol glycosides obtainable by such a method.

The present invention provides edible compositions comprising a sweet taste modulator or bitter taste blocker of the present invention, food products comprising such edible compositions and methods of preparing such food products. The present invention also provides methods of reducing the amount of sugar in a food product, methods of reducing the caloric intake in a diet, and methods of enhancing sweet taste or blocking a bitter taste in a food product.

Methods of preparing highly purified steviol glycosides, particularly rebaudiosides A, D and M are described. The methods include utilizing recombinant microorganisms for converting various staring compositions to target steviol glycosides. In addition, novel steviol glycosides reb D2, reb M2, and reb I are disclosed, as are methods of preparing the same. The highly purified rebaudiosides are useful as non-caloric sweetener in edible and chewable compositions such as any beverages, confectioneries, bakery products, cookies, and chewing gums.

The invention describes compositions that include a stevia sweetener and a salt of a steviol glycoside, wherein the concentration of the components provide an improved taste profile where bitterness, after taste and/or lingering of the stevia sweetener is decreased or eliminated.

The present invention relates to a flavor system comprised of plant-derived sweeteners, including from Stevia rebaudiana and Thaumatococcus danielli, that when added to a mixture of L-Tyrosine, Acetyl-L-Carnitine, Alpha GPC, Huperzia Serrate PE, Phosphatidylserine, Vinpocetine, Vitamin B-12, Vitamin B-9, and Caffeine Anhydrous, neutralizes the bitterness of said mixture in aqueous form.

The invention describes products, uses thereof, compositions thereof, and methods to prepare products formed from Maillard reaction products from a sugar donor and/or sweet tea extracts, stevia extracts, swingle (mogroside) extracts, one or more sweet tea extract components, one or more steviol glycosides, one or more mogrosides, one or more glycosylated sweet tea glycosides, one or more glycosylated steviol glycosides or one or more glycosylated mogrosides and an amine donor/reactant.

A new stevia variety is characterized by remarkably high levels of Rebaudioside C (RC), and developed by the use of non-GMO selective breeding technologies and wherein such variety is uniquely identified by RAPD gene analysis, and comprises from about 3-8% by weight RC in the leaf (leaf content) and from about 10-13% total steviol glycosides content (TSG) in in leaf (leaf content), both of which are exceptionally high.

A Stevia extract made from leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant is described. The extract has desired levels of steviol glycosides and is useful in food, beverage, and other consumable products.

Isolated mogroside and mogrol biosynthetic pathway enzyme polypeptides useful in mogroside biosynthesis are provided. Mogroside biosynthetic pathway enzymes of the invention include squalene epoxidase (SE), expoxy hydratase (EH), cytochrome p450 (Cyp), cucurbitadienol synthase (CDS) and udp-glucosyl-transferase (UGT). Also provided are methods of producing a mogroside using the isolated mogroside and mogrol biosynthetic enzyme polypeptides, the methods comprising contacting a mogrol and/or a glycosylated mogrol (mogroside) with at least one UDP glucose glucosyl transferase (UGT) enzyme polypeptide of the invention catalyzing glucosylation of the mogrol and/or the glucosylated mogrol to produce a mogroside with an additional glucosyl moietie(s), thereby producing the mogroside. Alternatively or additionally provided is a method of synthesizing a mogrol, the method comprising contacting a mogrol precursor substrate with one or more mogrol biosynthetic pathway enzyme polypeptides as described herein catalyzing mogrol synthesis from the mogrol precursor substrate, thereby synthesizing the mogrol.

Stevia varieties with high a content of RebD, a high content of RebM, and a high content of RebD and RebM containing various SNP markers and UGT isoforms, are disclosed. Methods of screening for the SNPs are also disclosed as well as for using the SNPs in marker assisted breeding. Further provided are methods for introgressing the disclosed SNPs associated with high RebD and high RebM into stevia plants by selecting plants comprising for one or more SNPs and breeding with such plants to confer such desirable agronomic phenotypes to plant progeny.