INULIN

Inulins are a group of naturally occurring polysaccharides produced by many types of plants. They belong to a class of fibers known as fructans. Inulin is used by some plants as a means of storing energy and is typically found in roots or rhizomes. Most plants that synthesize and store inulin do not store other materials such as starch.

Biochemistry
Inulins are polymers composed mainly of fructose units, and typically have a terminal glucose. The fructose units in inulins are joined by a (21) glycosidic bond. In general, plant inulins contain between 20 and several thousand fructose units. Smaller compounds are called fructooligosaccharides.

Uses of Inulin:
Medical Uses:
1. Inulin is used to help measure kidney function by determining the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). 2. GFR is the volume of fluid filtered from the renal (kidney) glomerular capillaries into the Bowman's capsule per unit time.[7] 3. Inulin is of particular use as it is not secreted or reabsorbed in any appreciable amount at the nephron allowing GFR to be calculated, rather than total renal filtration. 4. However, due to clinical limitations, inulin is rarely used for this purpose and creatinine values are the standard for determining an approximate GFR.

Processed foods
1. Inulin is increasingly used in processed foods because it has unusually adaptable characteristics. Its flavour ranges from bland to subtly sweet (approx. 10% sweetness of sugar/sucrose). It can be used to replace sugar, fat, and flour. 2. This is particularly advantageous because inulin contains a quarter to a third of the food energy of sugar or other carbohydrates and a ninth to a sixth of the food energy of fat.

3. While inulin is a versatile ingredient, it also has health benefits. Inulin increases calcium absorption and possibly Magnesium absorption, while promoting the growth of intestinal bacteria. 4. In terms of nutrition, it is considered a form of soluble fiber and is sometimes categorized as a prebiotic. Due to the body's limited ability to process polysaccharides, inulin has minimal increasing impact on blood sugar, andunlike fructoseis not insulemic and does not raise triglycerides, making it considered suitable for diabetics and potentially helpful in managing blood sugar-related illnesses. 5. The consumption of large quantities (in particular, by sensitive or unaccustomed individuals) can lead to gas and bloating, and products that contain inulin will sometimes include a warning to add it gradually to one's diet.

Industrial use
Nonhydrolyzed inulin can also be directly converted to ethanol in a simultaneous fermentation process, which may have great potential for converting crops high in inulin into ethanol for fuel.

Calculation of glomerular filtration rate

Inulin is uniquely treated by nephrons in that it is completely filtered at the glomerulus but neither secreted nor reabsorbed by the tubules. This property of inulin allows the clearance of inulin to be used clinically as a highly accurate measure of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) the rate of plasma from the afferent arteriole that is filtered into Bowman's capsule measured in mL/min. It is informative to contrast the properties of inulin with those of para-aminohippuric acid (PAH). PAH is partially filtered from plasma at the glomerulus and not reabsorbed by the tubules, in a manner identical to inulin.

 PAH is different from inulin in that the fraction of PAH that bypasses the glomerulus and enters the nephron's tubular cells (via the peritubular capillaries) is completely secreted. The measurement of GFR by inulin is still considered the gold-standard. However, it has now been largely replaced by other, simpler measures that are approximations of GFR. For both inulin and creatinine, the calculations involve concentrations in the urine and in the serum. However, unlike creatinine, inulin is not naturally present in the body. This is an advantage of inulin (because the amount infused will be known) and a disadvantage (because an infusion is necessary.)

DEXTRIN
Dextrins are a group of low-molecular-weight carbohydrates produced by the hydrolysis of starch or glycogen. Dextrins are mixtures of polymers of D-glucose units linked by -(1,4) or -(1,6) glycosidic bonds. Dextrins can be produced from starch using enzymes like amylases, as during digestion in the human body and during malting and mashing, or by applying dry heat under acidic conditions (pyrolysis or roasting). Dextrins produced by heat are also known as pyrodextrins. During roasting under acid condition the starch hydrolyses and short chained starch parts partially rebranches with -(1,6) bonds to the degraded starch molecule. Most can be detected with iodine solution, giving a red coloration; one distinguishes erythrodextrin (dextrin that colours red) and achrodextrin (giving no colour).

Uses
Yellow dextrins are used as water-soluble glues in remoistable envelope adhesives and paper tubes, in the mining industry as additives in froth flotation, in the foundry industry as green strength additives in sand casting, as printing thickener for batik resist dyeing and as binders in gouache paint.

Due to the rebranching, dextrins are less digestible; indigestible dextrin are developed as soluble fiber supplements for food products.

Maltodextrin
Maltodextrin is a short chained starch sugar, gelatin hybrid base, (dextrin), that is used as a food additive. It is produced also by enzymatic hydrolysis from gelatinated starch and is usually found as a creamy-white hygroscopic spraydried powder. Maltodextrin is easily digestible, being absorbed as rapidly as glucose, and might either be moderately sweet or might have hardly any flavor at all.

Cyclodextrin
The cyclical dextrins are known as cyclodextrins. They are formed by enzymatic degradation of starch by certain bacteria, for example, Bacillus macerans. Cyclodextrins have toroidal structures formed by 6-8 glucose residues.

Amylodextrin is a linear dextrin or short chained amylose that can be produced by enzymatic hydrolysis of the alpha-1,6 glycosidic bonds or debranching amylopectin. Amylodextrin colors blue with iodine. (Beta) Limit dextrin is the remaining polymer produced by enzymatic hydrolyse of amylopectine with beta amylase which cannot hydrolyse the alpha-1,6 bonds at branch points. (Alpha) Limit dextrin is a short chained branched amylopectine remain, produced by hydrolysis of amylopectine with alpha amylase