| Chemical Properties |
white crystalline solid |
| Chemical Properties |
Inulin occurs as an odorless white powder with a neutral to slightly sweet taste. |
| Uses |
Is a safe plant polysaccharide with a variety of uses in the food and chemical medical industry. It is a functional food, providing functional groups for beneficial bacteria, as well as improving prop erties of food such as texture, hydration and shelf-life. They are also used for vaccine and drug delivery via soluble storage. |
| Uses |
Inulin is a nondigestible oligosaccharide containing fructose which provides texture, rheology, dietary fiber properties, and selective fer- mentation by colon bacteria. commercially obtained from chicory root; common sources include onion, garlic, leek, asparagus, and jerusalem artichoke. it is a hygroscopic powder with solubility in water dependent on water temperature. with increasing concentra- tion, viscosity gradually increases, and at about 30% concentration, it can form discrete particle gels which are characterized as creamy and fat-like. it is not hydrolyzed by the digestive system. it func- tions as a prebiotic, passing into the colon where it is preferentially fermented by healthy bacteria such as bifidobacteria and lactobacilli to increase their proliferation and inhibit unwanted bacteria. it is used in ice cream products to replace fat and sugar, and in baked goods. |
| Production Methods |
Inulin is extracted from the tubers of Dahlia variabilis, Helianthus, in a procedure similar to the extraction of sugar from sugar beet. |
| Pharmaceutical Applications |
Inulin has many potential uses in pharmaceutical applications, as a filler–binder in tablet formulations; to stabilize therapeutic proteins; or to enhance the dissolution of lipophilic drugs. Methacrylated inulin hydrogels have been investigated for the development of colon-specific drug delivery systems.
Inulin is used as a diagnostic agent to measure the glomerular filtration rate. It is used in the food industry as a sweetener and stabilizer; and also as a prebiotic, where it has been shown to provide protection against inflammatory and malignant colonic diseases in animals. It is also used as a noncaloric dietary fiber supplement. |
| Safety |
Inulin is a naturally occurring plant polysaccharide and is one of the major constituents of the Compositae family. Inulin is recommended to diabetics, as it has a mild sweet taste, but is not absorbed and does not affect blood sugar levels. It is used widely in the food industry as a sweetener and stabilizer. |
| storage |
Inulin is slightly hygroscopic and should be stored at cool to normal temperatures, in air-tight and water-tight containers. |
| Incompatibilities |
Inulin is incompatible with strong oxidizing agents. |
| Regulatory Status |
GRAS listed. |
