Solubilization of steviolbioside and steviolmonoside with gamma-cyclodextrin and its application to selective syntheses of better sweet glycosides from stevioside and rubusoside.

1,4-alpha-Glucosylation at the 13-O-glycosyl moiety of stevioside (S) and rubusoside (RU) results in a significant increase of sweetness. Saponification of the 19-COO-beta-glucosyl linkage of S and RU yielded steviolbioside (SB) (= 13-O-beta-sophorosyl-steviol) and steviolmonoside (SM) (= 13-O-beta-glucosyl-steviol), respectively, both of which are poorly soluble in an acetate buffer. It was found that the solubilities of SM and SB in the buffer solution were remarkably increased in the presence of gamma-cyclodextrin (gamma-CD). SB was solubilized in the buffer solution with the aid of gamma-CD, and the solution was subjected to 1,4-alpha-transglucosylation by using a cyclodextrin glucanotransferase-starch system to give a mixture of products which were glucosylated at the 13-O-glycosyl moiety. This mixture was acetylated, and the acetate was subjected to chemical beta-glucosylation of 19-COOH followed by deacetylation to afford compounds which have superior sweetness to S. In the same way, derivatives with superior sweetness were selectively prepared from RU through SM.