Inulin

Inulin is a plant-storage polysaccharide composed mainly of fructose units, often ending in a glucose unit. Humans digest little of it, so it functions as dietary fiber and can be fermented by gut microbes.

Fructan: A carbohydrate polymer made mostly of fructose units. Inulin is one of the most widespread forms of this broader carbohydrate family.
Dietary fiber: Carbohydrate components of food that resist digestion and absorption in the small intestine. Inulin contributes to fiber intake because human enzymes do not break down its chains.
Polysaccharide: A carbohydrate made of many monosaccharide units linked into a chain or branched structure. Inulin belongs to this broad class of sugar polymers.
Starch: A plant-storage polysaccharide composed of glucose units. Unlike inulin, starch is built from glucose and is digestible by human enzymes.
Fructose: A simple sugar found in fruits, honey, and many plant carbohydrates. Fructose units form most of inulin’s chain.
Food additive: A substance added to food to affect its properties or processing. Food makers use inulin to add fiber and alter texture or mouthfeel.
Oligofructose: A mixture of short fructose chains, often produced by partially hydrolyzing inulin. It shares inulin’s basic sugar composition but has shorter chains.
Cellulose: A structural plant polysaccharide composed of glucose units linked into fibers. Both resist human digestion, but cellulose supports plant cell walls rather than storing fructose.
Glycosidic bond: A covalent bond that joins a sugar molecule to another molecule. The bonds linking inulin’s fructose units resist human digestive enzymes.
Chicory root: The root of Cichorium intybus, a major commercial source of inulin. Commercial inulin is commonly extracted from this root.

Linked from 1 page