inulin

[ in-yuh-lin ]

/ ˈɪn yə lɪn /

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noun Chemistry.

a polysaccharide, (C6H10O5)n, obtained from the roots of certain plants, especially elecampane, dahlia, and Jerusalem artichoke, that undergoes hydrolysis to the dextrorotatory form of fructose: used chiefly as an ingredient in diabetic bread, in processed foods to increase their fiber content, and as a reagent in diagnosing kidney function.

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Also called alant starch .

Origin of inulin

1805–15; <New Latin Inul(a) a genus of plants (Latin: elecampane) + -in²

Words nearby inulin

Inuit, Inuk, inukshuk, Inuktitut, inulase, inulin, inunction, inundant, inundate, inundated, inundation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use inulin in a sentence

It is a constituent of sucrose, of raffinose, and of the polysaccharide inulin, from which it may be obtained by hydrolysis.
The Chemistry of Plant Life|Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher
Mannan bears the same relation to mannose that starch does to glucose and inulin to fructose.
The Chemistry of Plant Life|Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher
The tubers are rich in the carbohydrate inulin and in sugar.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6|Various
The starch corpuscles are very small, with a trace of inulin.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley

Inulin is a compound closely related to starch, and upon digestion with acids, yields levulose just as starch yields glucose.
Encyclopedia of Diet|Eugene Christian

British Dictionary definitions for inulin

inulin

/ (ˈɪnjʊlɪn) /

noun

a fructose polysaccharide present in the tubers and rhizomes of some plants. Formula: (C 6 H 10 O 5) n

Word Origin for inulin

C19: from Latin inula elecampane + -in

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012