Inulin is a polysaccharide from the rhizomes of plants of the Compositae family (daisies, Echinacea, Inula helenium and others) and is used in the laboratory as a diagnostic aid in tests on kidney function, as it is not absorbed nor metabolized by the human body.  It is basically a reserve carbohydrate consisting of linear chains of β-(2,1)-linked fructose attached to a sucrose molecule.

What it is used for and where

Medical

It has 100 calories per 100 grams and is a dietary fiber.

Improves and cures digestive functions (1) reducing the risk of colon cancer (2).

Improves and reduces the values of harmful cholesterol (3).

Not being assimilated by the body, it does not affect glucose levels, but modulates them (4). It is therefore a food suitable for diabetics.

It is found in nature in:

• onion
• garlic
• wheat
• artichoke
• banana
• leek
• chicory

The most relevant studies on this carbohydrate have been selected with a summary of their contents:

Inulin studies

Molecular Formula: C₂₂₈H₃₈₂O₁₉₁

Molecular Weight: 6179.373 g/mol

UNII: JOS53KRJ01

CAS: 9005-80-5  189444-25-5  887747-94-6 1252047-46-3  380230-05-7

EC Number: 232-684-3

• DB00638
• AC1L2NNM
• LS-186416
• AI3-19506
• LS-187349
• JOS53KRJ01
• 78089-EP2272846A1
• 78089-EP2277868A1

References______________________________________________________________________

(1) Gibson GR, Beatty ER, Wang X, Cummings JH Selective stimulation of bifidobacteria in the human colon by oligofructose and inulin. Gastroenterology. 1995 Apr; 108(4):975-82.

(2) Rafter J, Bennett M, Caderni G, Clune Y, Hughes R, Karlsson PC, Klinder A, O'Riordan M, O'Sullivan GC, Pool-Zobel B, Rechkemmer G, Roller M, Rowland I, Salvadori M, Thijs H, Van Loo J, Watzl B, Collins JK Dietary synbiotics reduce cancer risk factors in polypectomized and colon cancer patients.  Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Feb; 85(2):488-96.

(3) de Luis DA, de la Fuente B, Izaola O, Conde R, Gutiérrez S, Morillo M, Teba Torres C. Randomized clinical trial with a inulin enriched cookie on risk cardiovascular factor in obese patients. Nutr Hosp. 2010 Jan-Feb;25(1):53-9. Spanish.

(4) Verbrugghe A, Hesta M, Gommeren K, Daminet S, Wuyts B, Buyse J, Janssens GP. Oligofructose and inulin modulate glucose and amino acid metabolism through propionate production in normal-weight and obese cats. Br J Nutr. 2009 Sep;102(5):694-702. doi: 10.1017/S0007114509288982. 

A Combination of Prebiotic Inulin and Oligofructose Improve Some of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Women with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.
Aliasgharzadeh A, Khalili M, Mirtaheri E, Pourghassem Gargari B, Tavakoli F, Abbasalizad Farhangi M, Babaei H, Dehghan P.
Adv Pharm Bull. 2015 Nov

Inulin: A novel and stretchy polysaccharide tool for biomedical and nutritional applications. Gupta N, Jangid AK, Pooja D, Kulhari H.  Int J Biol Macromol. 2019 Mar 26;132:852-863. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.03.188.

Role of inulin as prebiotics on inflammatory bowel disease. Akram W, Garud N, Joshi R. Drug Discov Ther. 2019;13(1):1-8. doi: 10.5582/ddt.2019.01000

Inulin with a low degree of polymerization protects human umbilical vein endothelial cells from hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced injury. Cha X, Han S, Yu J, Zhang S, Yu S, Fu D, Yao M, Zhang L, Feng G. Carbohydr Polym. 2019 Jul 15;216:97-106. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2019.03.016. Epub 2019 Mar 30

Dietary supplementation with inulin-propionate ester or inulin improves insulin sensitivity in adults with overweight and obesity with distinct effects on the gut microbiota, plasma metabolome and systemic inflammatory responses: a randomised cross-over trial. Chambers ES, Byrne CS, Morrison DJ, Murphy KG, Preston T, Tedford C, Garcia-Perez I, Fountana S, Serrano-Contreras JI, Holmes E, Reynolds CJ, Roberts JF, Boyton RJ, Altmann DM, McDonald JAK, Marchesi JR, Akbar AN, Riddell NE, Wallis GA, Frost GS. Gut. 2019 Apr 10. pii: gutjnl-2019-318424. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2019-318424.

Dietary inulin alleviates diverse stages of type 2 diabetes mellitus via anti-inflammation and modulating gut microbiota in db/db mice. Li K, Zhang L, Xue J, Yang X, Dong X, Sha L, Lei H, Zhang X, Zhu L, Wang Z, Li X, Wang H, Liu P, Dong Y, He L. Food Funct. 2019 Apr 17;10(4):1915-1927. doi: 10.1039/c8fo02265h.

Conjugation of Inulin Improves Anti-Biofilm Activity of Chitosan. Zhang G, Liu J, Li R, Jiao S, Feng C, Wang ZA, Du Y. Mar Drugs. 2018 May 4;16(5). pii: E151. doi: 10.3390/md16050151.