Editing Inulin (section)

== Origin and history ==
Inulin is a natural storage carbohydrate present in more than 36,000 species of plants, including [[agave]], [[wheat]], [[onion]], [[banana]]s, [[garlic]], [[asparagus]], [[Jerusalem artichoke]], and [[chicory]]. For these plants, inulin is used as an energy reserve and for regulating cold resistance.<ref name=I1>{{cite journal |last=Niness |first=K. R. |title=Inulin and oligofructose: what are they? |journal=The Journal of Nutrition |date=July 1999 |volume=129 |issue=7 Suppl |pages=1402S–6S |pmid=10395607 |doi=10.1093/jn/129.7.1402S |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=I2>{{cite journal |last=Kalyani Nair |first=K. |author2=Kharb, Suman |author3=Thompkinson, D. K. |title=Inulin Dietary Fiber with Functional and Health Attributes—A Review |journal=Food Reviews International |date=18 March 2010 |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=189–203 |doi=10.1080/87559121003590664|s2cid=84555786 }}</ref> 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 inulin molecules by [[hydrolysis]]. By changing osmotic potential without changing the total amount of carbohydrate, plants can withstand cold and drought during winter periods.<ref name=I3>{{cite book |last=Boeckner |first=L. S. |author2=Schnepf, M. I. |author3=Tungland, B. C. |title=Inulin: a review of nutritional and health implications |year=2001 |volume=43 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/advancesinfoodnu0000unse/page/1 1–63] |pmid=11285681 |doi=10.1016/s1043-4526(01)43002-6 |series=Advances in Food and Nutrition Research |isbn=978-0-12-016443-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/advancesinfoodnu0000unse/page/1}}</ref>

Inulin was discovered in 1804 by German scientist [[Valentin Rose (pharmacologist)|Valentin Rose]]. He found "a peculiar substance" from ''[[Inula helenium]]'' roots by boiling-water extraction.<ref name=I3 /><ref name=I11>{{cite journal |last=Irvine |first=James Colquhoun |author2=Soutar, Charles William |title=CLXV. The constitution of polysaccharides. Part II. The conversion of cellulose into glucose |journal=Journal of the Chemical Society, Transactions |year=1920 |volume=117 |pages=1489–1500 |doi=10.1039/CT9201701489 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1593106}}</ref> In the 1920s, [[James Irvine (chemist)|J. Irvine]] used chemical methods such as [[methylation]] to study the molecular structure of inulin, and he designed the isolation method for this new [[anhydrous|anhydro]]fructose.<ref name=I11 /><ref name=I12>{{cite journal |last=Irvine |first=James Colquhoun |author2=Stevenson, John Whiteford |title=The molecular structure of inulin. Isolation of a new anhydrofructose |journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society |date=July 1929 |volume=51 |issue=7 |pages=2197–2203 |doi=10.1021/ja01382a035}}</ref> During studies of [[renal tubule]]s in the 1930s, researchers searched for a substance that could serve as a [[biomarker]] that is not reabsorbed or secreted after introduction into tubules.<ref name=I13>{{cite journal |last=Richards |first=A. N. |author2=Westfall, B. B. |author3=Bott, P. A. |title=Renal Excretion of Inulin, Creatinine and Xylose in Normal Dogs |journal=Experimental Biology and Medicine |date=1 October 1934 |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=73–75 |doi=10.3181/00379727-32-7564P|s2cid=87153900 }}</ref><ref name=I14>{{cite journal |last=Shannon |first=J. A. |author2=Smith, H. W. |title=The excretion of inulin, xylose and urea by normal and phlorinzinized man |journal=The Journal of Clinical Investigation |date=July 1935 |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=393–401 |pmid=16694313 |doi=10.1172/JCI100690 |pmc=424694}}</ref> [[Alfred Newton Richards|A. N. Richards]] introduced inulin because of its high [[molecular weight]] and its resistance to [[enzyme]]s.<ref name=I13 /> Inulin is used to determine [[glomerular filtration rate]] of the [[kidney]]s.<ref name=I15>{{cite journal |last=Coulthard |first=M. G. |author2=Ruddock, V. |title=Validation of inulin as a marker for glomerular filtration in preterm babies |journal=Kidney International |date=February 1983 |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=407–409 |pmid=6842964 |doi=10.1038/ki.1983.34|doi-access=free }}</ref>