Inulin - a versatile polysaccharide: use as food chemical and pharmaceutical agent
Abstract
?-D-glucopyranosyl-[?-D-fructofuranosyl](n-1)-D-fructofuranoside, commonly referred to as inulin, is natural plant-derived polysaccharide with a diverse range of food and pharmaceutical applications. It is used by the food industry as a soluble dietary fibre and fat or sugar replacement and in the pharmaceutical industry as a stabiliser and excipient. It can also be used as a precursor in the synthesis of a wide range of compounds. New uses for inulin are constantly being discovered, with recent research into its use for slow-release drug delivery. Inulin, when in a particulate form, possesses anti-cancer and immune enhancing properties. Given its increasing importance to industry, this review explains how inulin's unique physico-chemical properties bestow it with many useful pharmaceutical applications.
Published
2010-12-13
How to Cite
PETROVSKY, Nikolai.
Inulin - a versatile polysaccharide: use as food chemical and pharmaceutical agent.
Journal of Excipients and Food Chemicals, [S.l.], v. 1, n. 3, p. 27-50, dec. 2010.
ISSN 21502668.
Available at: <https://ojs.abo.fi/ojs/index.php/jefc/article/view/40>. Date accessed: 21 nov. 2024.
Issue
Section
Reviews
Keywords
Inulin, polysaccharide, fructose, excipient, vaccine, adjuvant
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