Intestinal degradation and absorption of the glycosidic sweeteners stevioside and rebaudioside A.
Contrary to prior indications, the glycosidic sweeteners stevioside and rebaudioside A are degraded to the diterpenoid aglycone steviol by rat intestinal microflora in vitro. Additional studies with steviol-17-[14C] show almost total absorption from the rat lower bowel following intracecal administration.