• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.780-786
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• 1993

About 7.7% of the total anaerobic bacteria in pig feces grew with clear zone around the colonies on the agar medium containing inulin as a sole carbon source. Among these bacteria, a strain with the strongest inulin-utilizing activity was isolated and identified as Bacteroides sp. based on its morphological and taxonomical characteristics. The isolate grew well with inulin, fructooligosaccharides or glucose as a sole carbon source, while its growth dropped to 50% of that obtained with glucose when soluble starch or sucrose are used. Since the inulase activity was found only when fructooligosaccharides or inulin was added to the growth medium, but not when glucose, sucrose or soluble starch was applied, the inulase production was considered to be induced by fructooligosaccharides or inulin. The highest inulase activity, 0.42 U/ml was detected with the inulin medium and 0.25 U/ml with fructooligosaccharides medium. The cell growth of the isolated strain increased with the amounts of inulin up to 2%(w/v) and maximum production of inulase was found in the cells fed 1% inulin. The inulase of the isolated Bacteroides sp. showed its maximum activity at pH $7.0{\sim}7.5\;and\;50{\sim}50^{\circ}C$ and was found to be an exoinulase judging by its mode of action.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.78-78
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• 2003

Inulin, an active component of Chicorium intybus root, has been shown to stimulate the growth of bifidobacteria, and inhibit colon carcinogenesis. NO mediates a number of the host-defense functions of activated macrophages, including antimicrobial and tumoricidal activity. We examined the effect of inulin on the synthesis of NO in RAW 264.7 cells. Inulin alone had no effect, whereas inulin with IFN-ν synergistically increased the NO production and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) expression in RAW 264.7 cells. Synergy between IFN-ν and inulin was mainly dependent on inulin-induced TNF-${\alpha}$ secretion. Also, protein kinase C (PKC)-${\alpha}$ was involved in the inulin-induced NO production. Inulin-mediated NO production was inhibited by the protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitor, tyrphostin AG126. Since iNOS gene transcriptions have been shown to be under the control of the NF -$\kappa$B/Rel family of transcription factors, we assessed the effect of inulin on NF -$\kappa$B/Rel using an EMSA. Inulin produced strong induction of NF-$\kappa$B/Rel binding, whereas AP-l binding was slightly induced in RAW 264.7 cells. Inulin stimulated phosphorylation and degradation of I$\kappa$B-${\alpha}$. These results suggest that in IFN-ν-primed RAW 264.7 cells inulin might stimulate NO synthesis via activation of PKC-${\alpha}$ and PTK, resulting in the activation of NF-$\kappa$B.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.295-312
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• 2022

Inulin is a non-digestible carbohydrate and a prebiotic that can also act as a fat replacer in various foods. This study examined the effect of replacing vegetable oil with garlic inulin on the quality traits of chicken sausages. Water-based inulin gels were prepared using garlic inulin or commercial inulin to imitate fats in chicken sausages. Chicken sausages were prepared separately replacing vegetable oil with water-based inulin gels to reach final inulin percentages of 1, 2, and 3 (w/w). The control was prepared using 3% (w/w) vegetable oil with no inulin. The physicochemical properties and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) value of prepared sausages were analyzed over 28-d frozen storage. Sausages with 2% garlic inulin recorded higher flavour and overall acceptability scores (p<0.05). Ash, moisture, and protein contents of the sausages were increased with increasing levels of inulin while fat content was reduced from 13.67% (control) to 4.47%-4.85% (p<0.05) in 3% inulin-incorporated products. Sausages incorporated with 2% inulin had lower lightness (L^*) values than the control (p<0.05). Water holding capacity (WHC) was similar (p>0.05) among the samples. During storage L^* value, pH, and WHC decreased while redness (a^*) and yellowness (b^*) values increased in all the samples. In addition, TBARS values were increased during the storage in all samples within the acceptable limits. In conclusion, garlic inulin can be used successfully as a fat substitute in sausages without altering meat quality parameters.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.68-74
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• 1995

A bacterial strain A-6 producing the high level of an extracellular inulin fructotransfe rase(depolymerizing)(EC 2.4.1.93) which converts inulin into di-D-fructofuranose dianhydride III (DFAIII) was isolated from soil. The isolated strain could be classified as a species belonging to the genus Arthrobacter based on its morphological and physiological characteristics identified in this work. Production of the enzyme was induced by inulin, and the highest activity was detected in the slightly acidic medium supplemented with 2.5% inulin and 0.1% trypton as a sole carbon and a nitrogen source, respectively. Under the optimal conditions, the enzyme activity in the culture supernatant reached approximately 60 uints/ml after 96 hours of cultivation. The optimum pH and temperature for the crude enzyme preparation from Arthrobacter sp. A-6 were pH 5.0 and 60$\circ$C , respectively. The DFA produced by the action of the inulin fructotransferase was confirmed to be DFAIII by paper chromatography, HPLC and $^{13}$C-NMR spectroscopy.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.352-363
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• 2004

Lipid-lowering effects of the inulin have been demonstrated in animal, yet attempts to reproduce similar effects in humans have generated conflicting results. In this study, the lipid-lowering potential of inulin and especially its effect on bile acid and neutral sterol excretion were investigated in Korean postmenopausal women. Nineteen postmenopausal women were randomly divided into two groups in a double-blind parallel design and consumed one of two supplements for 12 weeks; placebo of 8g maltodextrins/sucrose mixture (placebo group) or 8g inulin (inulin group). There were no significant changes in body weight during the supplementation period in either inulin or placebo group. Dietary consumption of animal fat in both group tended to decrease after 12 weeks of experiment. Intake of cholesterol was lower in placebo group, whereas the decrease of cholesterol intake in inulin group did not reach statistical significance after 12 weeks. The levels of serum total cholesterol (TC) and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) were significantly decreased in both placebo (p＜0.05) and inulin group (p＜0.01) after supplementation for 12 weeks compared with the baseline. The levels of serum triglyceride (TG) and HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) were not significantly affected by inulin supplements, but atherogenic index (AI) and LDL-C/HDL-C ratio (LHR) as a predictor for coronary heart disease were improved (p＜0.01) significantly after inulin supplementation. Therefore, inulin supplement may decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease via improving blood cholesterol level. Fecal weight and pH were not changed after 12 weeks of supplementation. There were no statistically significant changes for the fecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). In inulin group, fecal deoxycholic acid (DCA) was significantly lowered compared with the baseline (p＜0.05) whereas other bile acids were not changed. During the 12 weeks of intervention, no differences were found in fecal excretion of neutral sterol in the two groups. In summary, dietary inulin decreases serum TC, LDL-C, AI, LHR and lowers excretion of fecal DCA in the Korean postmenopausal women. These results support the use of inulin for reducing risk factors for hyperlipidemic postmenopausal women. However, the exact mechanism (s) responsible for the blood lipid lowering action of inulin including altered fecal bile acid remain to be elucidated.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.36-40
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• 1993

A bacterial strain, producing extracellular inulin fructotransferase which converts inulin into di-D-fructofuranose dianhydride (DFA) was isolated from soil and presumed as Enterobacter sp. The DFA isolated on Bio-gel P2 column was identified as DFA III by high performance liquid chromatography and $^13C-nmr$ spectroscopy. The enzyme production was induced by inulin and markedly enhanced by the addition of corn steep liquor and $NH_4H_2P0_4$ for nitrogen source. Under optimum condition, the enzyme activity in the culture broth reached at maximum, 0.22 unit/ml after cultivation for 72 hour.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.69-73
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• 2000

Arthrobacter sp. A-6 was cultivated and DFA III(di-fructofuranose dianhydride) was produced with inulin fructotransferase from the chicory root. The specific growth rate, yield of cell mass and yield of enzyme from the culture in variable chicory root extracts were studied and the results compared. Standard inulin solution(10%) was treated with the crude enzyme solution of inulin fructotransferase from the cell culture, 1.14mg/ml of DFA III was produced. The enzyme reactions were processed with various preparations of chicory root extracts in the same conditions. The highest yield of DFA III production(2.29 mg/ml) was obtained from the chicory roots without washing or extraction. The yield of DFA III from the washed chicory roots without extraction was at lowest(0.44 mg/ml). The production process of inulin fructotransferase and DFA III from the chicory root without prewashing or extraction steps were more efficient.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.267-274
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• 2016

The purposes of this study were to investigate the impacts of concentration levels of whey protein isolate (WPI) and inulin on the formation and physicochemical properties of WPI/inulin nano complexes and to evaluate their potential prebiotic effects. WPI/inulin nano complexes were produced using the internal gelation method. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and particle size analyzer were used to assess the morphological and physicochemical characterizations of nano complexes, respectively. The encapsulation efficiency of resveratrol in nano complexes was studied using HPLC while the potential prebiotic effects were investigated by measuring the viability of probiotics. In TEM micrographs, the globular forms of nano complexes in the range of 10 and 100 nm were successfully manufactured. An increase in WPI concentration level from 1 to 3% (w/v) resulted in a significant (p<0.05) decrease in the size of nano complexs while inulin concentration level did not affect the size of nano complexes. The polydispersity index of nano complexes was below 0.3 in all cases while the zeta-potential values in the range of -2 and -12 mV were observed. The encapsulation efficiency of resveratrol was significantly (p<0.05) increased as WPI and inulin concentration levels were increased from 1 to 3% (w/v). During incubation at 37℃ for 24 h, WPI/inulin nano complexes exhibited similar viability of probiotics with free inulin and had significantly (p<0.05) higher viability than negative control. In conclusions, WPI and inulin concentration levels were key factors affecting the physicochemical properties of WPI/inulin nano complexes and had potential prebiotic effect.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.284-288
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• 1998

Production of inulo-oligosaccharides from inulin was carried out with the maximum yield of 94% using a purified endoinulinase from Aspergillus ficcum. The optimum reaction temperature and pH were 55-60$^{\circ}C$ and pH 5.5-6.0, respectively. The Michaelis constant and maximum reaction velocity of the endoinuinase for inulin were 13.27 g/L and 0.13 g/L$.$min at 55$^{\circ}C$, pH 5.5, respectively. Inulin source had no significant effect on oligosaccharide yield and product composition, although initial production rate differed according to inulin origins. The reaction pH was a critical factor in inulo-oligosaccharide production because considerable free monosaccharides were released, decreasing oligosaccharide yield at low pH conditions. An empirical relationship describing the reaction performance was developed from kinetic data: the time to reach maximum oligosaccharide yield (tw) as a function of initial concentration of inulin (lo) and enzyme (Eo); i.e., log tM = -1.025 log Eo - 0.011 l0 + 2.655.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.543-548
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• 2006

The effects of food grade fructooligosaccharide (FOS), isomaltooligosaccharide (MOS), galactooligosaccharide (GOS), and inulin on the growth of five strains of bifidobacteria in fermented milk were investigated. Their effect on culture viability during refrigerated storage was also determined. FOS showed the highest growth-promoting activity for all bifidobacteria except for Bifidobacterium bifidum. Growth rates of B. adolescentis, B. breve, and B. infantis were stimulated by oligosaccharides and inulin, whereas B. longum growth was stimulated by the oligosaccharides but not inulin. In contrast, growth of B. bifidum was enhanced only by inulin. Both acetic and lactic acid production by Bifidobacterium spp. was also enhanced in the presence of 5.0% oligosaccharides. The viability of bifidobacteria cultured with oligosaccharides and inulin, particularly with FOS, was significantly higher than control cultures after 4 weeks of refrigerated storage. The utilization of oligosaccharides is likely to enhance the growth rate, activity, and viability of bifidobacteria.