Abstract:To improve the processing efficiency of Stevia rebaudiana and stevia glycoside quality，the leaves of the GP strain of high rebaudioside A（RA）-type S.rebaudiana collected from the field were dried at 45，60，80 ℃and 100℃，with de-enzymed，non-de-enzymed，and non-de-enzymed shade-dried treatments.Afterward，their glycoside contents were determined using high performance liquid chromatography，to investigate the effects of drying process on stevia glycoside contents.According to the results，drying duration in the shade required to achieve constant weight was 48 h，which was significantly longer than that for the other drying treatments.RA glycoside content in GP strain leaves under the shade drying condition was 11.37%，which was the highest among all treatments，followed by that of the non-de-enzymed group dried at 45℃，at 10.53%.The ratio of RA glycoside content to stevioside（ST）glycoside content was the highest in the leaves of RA type stevia，which reduced the delayed bitterness following heating of the non-de-enzymed group at 60℃.According to the results，for edibles，the use of non-de-enzymed samples dried at 60 ℃ was recommended.Furthermore，the raw material for RA glycoside extraction should be spread thinly in the shade or dried under sunlight after harvesting.If planted over large areas or in rainy weather，the non-de-enzymed raw materials should be dried at 45 ℃.In addition，rebaudioside D（RD）glycoside contents were the highest under the 100 ℃temperature，which was also significantly higher than those under the other drying treatments.Consequently，drying of the leavesof the RD-type S.rebaudiana should be conducted using non-de-enzymed samplesat 100℃.