Inulin food sources

Polysaccharides, e.g., cellulose, starch, agar, alginates, and other microbial polysaccharides, gum arabic, and tragacanth are used commercially (F 4). Starch serves as an important food source for human beings. Inulin is used by diabetics. Lactose is used as a mild laxative in mediicine (F 2). 

Glucose syrups have been used in the food industry for a long time. Fructose is significantly sweeter than glucose. No effective chemical isomerisation methods are possible, and other sources of fructose, for instance by the hydrolysis of inulin, are not yet performed on large scale. Therefore an enzyme isomerisation technology has been developed (Jensen and Rugh, 1987 White, 1992 Pedersen, 1993). 

The patent describes a gelatinized cereal product, which contains inulin derived from a plant source (e.g., chicory or Jerusalem artichoke). Inulin comprises around 0.25% by dry weight. The cereal product may be used as a pet food or breakfast cereal. 

The novel use of fructran (DP over 15) for the manufacture of a composition for the prevention and treatment of colon cancer in nonbovine mammals, particularly in human beings. The composition can be a medicament as well as a functional food. The preferred fructan is inulin, obtained from Jerusalem artichoke or other sources. 

The patent discloses a suggested food additive composition, containing fiber, vitamins, and mineral substances. The suggested plant sources of pectin and inulin are dandelion... 

A method is presented for producing concentrate of dehydrated Jerusalem artichoke tubers. The novel product is characterized by a high content of micro- and macroelements (e.g., silicon, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium). It provides a biologically active additive for foodstuffs, a base or component of food products, and can also be a source material for the production of inulin for use in the biotechnological, medicine, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. 

The addition of prebiotics in food may offer other benefits by improving host absorption of minerals (like calcium or magnesium). Recent advances in this field show that inulin-type fructans enhanced calcium absorption primarily via the colonic mucosa in humans (Abrams et al. 2007). This effect may be partially due to the interaction of inulin type fmctans with the Fok 1 gene, a genetic modifier of calcium absorption, as well as due to the acidic environment caused by the production of SCFA, which may increase the solubility of minerals and thus enhance their absorption (Abrams etal. 2005). Crude fractions of chicory (a source of inulin) have shown improved bone parameters relative to native or reformulated inulin in rats, suggesting possible synergies between inulin-t5 e fructans and other nutrients (Demigne et al. 2008). 

F. may be used as low-cost sources of rather pure fructose. Their viscosity makes them useful as thickeners, binders and as protective encapsulating agent for flavors, colors and pharmaceuticals. Inulin is used for the production of dietary food. Inulin is not degraded by the enzymes of the mucosa and can be used in diagnostics to determine the filtration rate of the kidney. 

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