inulin

A natural storage carbohydrate present in more than 36,000 species of plants, including agave, wheat, onion, banana, plantain, garlic, asparagus, dandelion, Jerusalem artichoke, and chicory.
For these plants, it is used as an energy reserve and for regulating cold resistance. Because it is soluble in water, it is osmotically active. Certain plants can change the osmotic potential of their cells by changing the degree of polymerization of the molecules by hydrolysis. By changing osmotic potential without changing the total amount of carbohydrate, plants can withstand cold and drought during winter periods.
They are polymers composed mainly of fructose units (fructans), and typically have a terminal glucose. The molecule is almost exclusively linear, with only a few percent branching. In general, plant inulins contain 2-70 fructose units, but sometimes as high as 200.
(Side effects as dietary fiber diet)
• intestinal discomfort
• diarrhea
• inflammation (allergy-related type): In the gut and lungs.
• anaphylactic allergic reaction (rare)
It is indigestible by the human enzymes ptyalin and amylase. As a result, it passes through much of the digestive system intact, and bacteria metabolise it only in the colon, with the release of significant quantities of carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and/or methane.
It is a soluble fiber and dissolves in water forming a gelatinous material. Some of them may help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels, therefore, they may be helpful in the management of diabetes.
It is uniquely treated by nephrons and completely filtered at the glomerulus but neither secreted nor reabsorbed by the tubules. This property allows the clearance of inulin to be used clinically as a highly accurate measure of glomerular filtration rate (GFR).
Nonhydrolyzed inulin can also be directly converted to ethanol.