Chicory Root Inulin Powder

Inulin is a linear beta(2-1) fructan: chains of fructose units carrying a terminal glucose, written GFn, with only a few per cent branching. CAS 9005-80-5. It occurs across thousands of plant species, but the commercial article is extracted from chicory root, Cichorium intybus L., which is sliced, washed and extracted with hot water, then purified and spray dried. Native chicory inulin spans a degree of polymerisation of 2 to 60 with a mean around 11 - roughly 31 per cent of chains at DP 2-9, 24 per cent at DP 10-20, 28 per cent at DP 21-40 and 17 per cent above DP 40. Because the root itself carries free sugars, native grades contain up to 10 per cent glucose, fructose and sucrose on dry matter, with fructan making up the balance at 90 per cent or more. Fructan content is determined by the AOAC 997.08 fructan method, which is the figure buyers should be quoting into their fibre declarations. Chain length is the specification decision that separates the grades. Native inulin dissolves readily and carries a faint residual sweetness from its short-chain fraction, which suits drink powders, dairy and fibre-fortified bars. Long-chain or high-performance inulin has the DP 2-9 fraction chromatographically removed, cutting free sugars and raising mean chain length; hydrated in water it builds a particle gel with a creamy, fat-like texture, which is why it is the grade specified for fat replacement in spreads, frozen desserts and reduced-fat dairy. Short-chain oligofructose is a related but genuinely different article with its own specification, its own sweetness profile and, importantly, its own tariff treatment - it should be quoted separately rather than substituted. Across all grades inulin is not hydrolysed by human digestive enzymes and is fermented in the large intestine, which is the basis for its classification as a soluble, fermentable dietary fibre and its trade as a prebiotic ingredient; the FDA recognised inulin as a dietary fibre in 2018, and the EU energy conversion factor for fibre is 2 kcal/g under Regulation 1169/2011 Annex XIV. On the regulatory side, EU Regulation 2015/2314 entered an authorised bowel-function claim for native chicory inulin, defined there as a non-fractionated chicory fructan with monosaccharides below 10 per cent and a mean degree of polymerisation of 9 or above, at a daily intake of 12 g. That definition is a useful purchasing benchmark; responsibility for claim wording in any given market rests with the brand owner. Formulators should also size servings against fermentable-fibre tolerance, since fructan load per serving is the practical constraint in bars and drinks. The material is vegan and vegetarian, plant-derived with no animal, milk, egg, soy, fish, crustacean, nut or gluten input. One sourcing note worth carrying to the label team: chicory is an Asteraceae (Compositae) botanical, which matters to buyers formulating for Compositae-sensitive consumers.