Inulin intake

Archer, B.J., Johnson, S.K., Devereux, H.M., and Baxter, A.L., Effect of fat replacement by inulin or lupin-kernel fibre on sausage patty acceptability, post-meal perceptions of satiety and food intake in men, Br. J. Nutr., 91, 591-599, 2004. 

With concern about the rising incidence of obesity and diabetes, increasing the dietary intake of Jerusalem artichoke, and inulin-containing products derived from it, could bring major health benefits. Historically, the average daily intake of inulin from all sources has been estimated to be around 25 to 33 g. However, by the 1990s, consumption was as low as 2 to 12 g per person per day (Roberfroid et al., 1993). The current estimated consumption in the U.S. is around 1 to 4 g per day, while in Europe it is 3 to 11 g per day wheat and onions mainly account for this inulin consumption (Moshfegh et al., 1999 Roberfroid and Delzenne, 1998 Van Loo et al., 1995). 

Coussement, P.A., Inulin and oligofructose safe intakes and legal status, J. Nutr., 129, 1412S-1417S, 1999. 

Jackson, K.G., Taylor, G.R.J., Clohessy, A.M., and Williams, C.M., The effects of the daily intake of inulin on fasting lipid, insulin, and glucose concentrations in middle-aged men and women, Br. J. Nutr., 82, 23-30, 1999. 

Fructose is a ketohexose found in honey and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Combined with glucose in an a( 1 2)j8 linkage, it forms sucrose (Chapter 9). It makes up one sixth to one third of the total carbohydrate intake of most individuals in industrialized nations. Inulin, found in some plants, is a polymer containing about 40 fructose residues connected in (2 1) linkages with some )S(2 —> 6) branch points. It cannot be hydrolyzed by any human enzyme and has been used for measurement of renal clearance. 

Glucofructans and fructans are physiologically acting polysaccharides or oligosaccharides that are classified as dietary fibre because they are not hydrolysed in the upper gastrointestinal system by saliva and pancreas hydrolases and by intestinal hydrolases (a-amylase, saccharase, maltase and other saccharidases). They also act as a growth factor for bifidobacteria in the colon. The daily intake of inulin and its hydrolytic products per capita in developed countries is estimated at 2-12 g. 

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