International Stevia Council

Technical

Calibration

Calibration is the empirical determination of the response of a detector or other equipment to a known input. For example, the detector response to a known compound in a sample where its concentration is unknown can be quantitated by determining the detector response relative to known amounts of the compound. This is routinely done in chromatographic analysis of the Steviol glycosides.

HPLC

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is a standard analytical chromatographic method for separating and quantitating compounds that differ based on their chemical structure.

Loss on drying

A standard method for determining moisture in a sample.  The sample is typically weighed and then dried at 105°C for 2 hours and then re-weighed.  The loss of weight on drying is attributed to the moisture initially in the sample.

Nanometer

Nanometer (nm) is a measure of length corresponding to 10-9 meters.

Organic molecules typically absorb light with wavelengths in the 10 nm to 400nm range.

UV

UV or Ultra Violet refers to the wavelength in the light spectrum ranging from 10nm to 400nm and its absorption by organic molecules.

It is routinely used to detect and quantify them.

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