Abstract
Inulins are linear fructan polymers which contain fructose units joined by beta-2,1 glycosidic bonds, typically terminating in a glucose residue linked by an alpha-1,2 bond as in sucrose. The major source of inulin is plants like Jerusalem artichoke and chicory root. Fructo-oligosaccharides consist of a fructose units polymerized to different extent and can be formed in vitro from substrate such as inulin. These oligosaccharides can be produced from the enzymatic hydrolysis of inulin by inulinase under controlled reaction conditions. In recent years, the oligosaccharides production has revolve around it's cost effective production from inexpensive and abundantly available raw materials. Inulin is a very promising source for oligosaccharide production. An exoinulinase and invertase activities free endoinulinase is required to acts on inulin because these two enzymes contaminate the final products with release of free sugars, which subsequently require more stringent purification protocols. Oligosaccharides obtained from inulin have similar chemical structures to fructo-oligosaccharides which were obtained by reaction of fructosyltransferase on sucrose. These oligosaccharides are regarded as a soluble dietary fiber, non-cariogenic, of low caloric value and showed strong bifidus-factors. They have proven health benefits which include role in absorption of calcium and minerals, replacement of sugar and fat in food products, reduction in cholesterol and ability to control cancer.