Inulin: Properties, health benefits and food applications

Muhammad Shoaib; Aamir Shehzad; Mukama Omar; Allah Rakha; Husnain Raza; Hafiz Rizwan Sharif; Azam Shakeel; Anum Ansari; Sobia Niazi

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.04.020

Inulin: Properties, health benefits and food applications

Carbohydr Polym. 2016 Aug 20:147:444-454. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.04.020. Epub 2016 Apr 8.

Authors

Muhammad Shoaib¹, Aamir Shehzad², Mukama Omar³, Allah Rakha⁴, Husnain Raza⁵, Hafiz Rizwan Sharif⁶, Azam Shakeel⁴, Anum Ansari⁴, Sobia Niazi⁵

Affiliations

¹ National Institute of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Food, Nutrition and Home Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan; State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, PR China. Electronic address: shoaib_ju@hotmail.com.
² National Institute of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Food, Nutrition and Home Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan. Electronic address: draamir@uaf.edu.pk.
³ Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, PR China.
⁴ National Institute of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Food, Nutrition and Home Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan.
⁵ National Institute of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Food, Nutrition and Home Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan; State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, PR China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, PR China.

PMID: 27178951
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.04.020

Abstract

Inulin is a water soluble storage polysaccharide and belongs to a group of non-digestible carbohydrates called fructans. Inulin has attained the GRAS status in USA and is extensively available in about 36,000 species of plants, amongst, chicory roots are considered as the richest source of inulin. Commonly, inulin is used as a prebiotic, fat replacer, sugar replacer, texture modifier and for the development of functional foods in order to improve health due to its beneficial role in gastric health. This review provides a deep insight about its production, physicochemical properties, role in combating various kinds of metabolic and diet related diseases and utilization as a functional ingredient in novel product development.

Keywords: Dietary fiber; Fructose; Inulin; Oligo-fructose; Prebiotics.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Dietary Carbohydrates*
Food Technology / trends
Fructans / chemistry
Functional Food
Inulin / chemistry*
Inulin / metabolism
Metabolic Diseases / diet therapy
Prebiotics

Substances

Dietary Carbohydrates
Fructans
Prebiotics
Inulin