title: Inulin: Properties, health benefits and food applications.
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.
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shoaib
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Aamir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shehzad
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, PR China.
authors.forename: Mukama
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Omar
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Food, Nutrition and Home Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Allah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rakha
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Husnain
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Raza
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, PR China.
authors.forename: Hafiz Rizwan
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Sharif
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Food, Nutrition and Home Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Azam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shakeel
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Food, Nutrition and Home Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Anum
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ansari
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Sobia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Niazi
mesh_terms: D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D005524:Food Technology / Q000639:trends; D005630:Fructans / Q000737:chemistry; D055951:Functional Food; D007444:Inulin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008659:Metabolic Diseases / Q000178:diet therapy; D056692:Prebiotics
chemical_list: D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D005630:Fructans; D056692:Prebiotics; D007444:Inulin
keywords: Dietary fiber; Fructose; Inulin; Oligo-fructose; Prebiotics