SWEET LEAVES

A while back, I had already read about a plant by the name of stevia being ued as a substitute for sugar. I managed to buy this plant at the Farmer's market this week.  The guy who sold it to me referred to it as Daun Manis.  Actually, it is more commonly known as Daun Gula or Sweet Leaves. 
Some countries do not support the use of Stevia as a sugar substitute because they have big investments in the sugar industry using sugar cane as the source. Non agriculture countries that survive totally on trade and commerce will also be against the use of Stevia as sugar is big business.
Stevia has big potential in Malaysia as most of the sweetener demand still using cane sugar. Sooner or later our country also will very likely follow the foot step of Japan, where 40% of sweetener demands are using stevia.
In the three pictures above, you can see my librarians helping to plant the Stevia or Daun Gula in the Herb Garden.
Medicinal uses
In countries like Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil, stevia which is called ka'a he'ê ("sweet herb") is used as a sweetener in yerba mate and medicinal teas for treating heartburn and other ailments. Medical research has also shown possible benefits of stevia in treating obesity and high blood pressure. Because stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to people on carbohydrate-controlled diets.
By the way, I tasted the leaf and it is sweet.  The guy who sold it to me said that the leaves can be sun dried and then be used to make tea or added to a drink to make it sweet.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stevia_rebaudiana_flowers.jpg
http://sites.google.com/site/pondokmayacom/daun-gula
http://agrobiosolution.blogspot.com/2010/02/stevia-pengganti-gula-stevia-as-sugar.html