Inulin sulfated

Inulin can be modified to compounds that display good heavy metal complexing properties similar to ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) but with better biodegradation properties (Bogaert et al., 1998). Inulin is first oxidized using sodium periodate to the dialdehyde, and then reduced to a polyol using Pt/C and hydrogen. The polyol can then be modified with carbon disulfide to form xanthate or with S03-pyridine to obtain an inulin sulfate. Alternatively, the dialdehyde can be animated with diaminoethane and sodium cyanoborohydride and the product reacted with monochloroacetic acid sodium salt to form carboxymethylamino inulin. Each of these compounds can be used to precipitate heavy metals. 

Haworth, Hirst and Percival23 methylated inulin by first acetylating and subsequently converting the acetate to the methyl derivative by means of dimethyl sulfate and sodium hydroxide in acetone solution, a procedure described by Haworth and Streight.24 They hydrolyzed trimethylinulin and quantitatively determined the amounts of trimethyl-D-fructose and tetramethyl-D-fructose formed. There was obtained 3.7%... 

Complete methylation of inulin (4) can be achieved by reaction with potassium hydroxide solution followed by the addition of dimethyl sulfate (Figure 5.5) (Irvine and Steele, 1920 Irvine and Montgomery, 1933 Irvine et al., 1922). Alternatively, complete methylation can be accomplished using methyl iodide and silver oxide (Karrer and Lang, 1921 Vaughn and Robbins 1975). Trimethyl inulin can be hydrolyzed to form 3,4,5-trimethylfructofuranose (Smeekens et al., 1996). 

Vidda, S., Vilaseca, J., Antolin, M. et al (2001) Dietary inulin improves distal colitis induced by dextran sodium sulfate in the rat. Am. J. Gastroenterol, 96,1486-1493. 

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