Editing Inulin (section)

===Medical===
Inulin and its analog [[sinistrin]] are used to help measure kidney function by determining the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), which is the volume of fluid filtered from the renal (kidney) [[Glomerulus (kidney)|glomerular]] capillaries into the [[Bowman's capsule]] per unit time.<ref>{{cite book |title=Essentials of Human Physiology |first=Thomas M. |last=Nosek |chapter=Section 7, Chapter 4, Glomerular Filtration Rate |chapter-url=http://humanphysiology.tuars.com/program/section7/7ch04/7ch04p11.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324124828/http://humanphysiology.tuars.com/program/section7/7ch04/7ch04p11.htm |archive-date=2016-03-24 }}</ref>

While inulin is the gold standard for measuring the GFR, it is rarely used in practice due to the expense and difficulty in conducting the test; it requires [[intravenous]] (IV) access for the infusion of inulin as well as up to twelve blood samples taken from the patient over the course of four hours.<ref>{{Citation|last=Langlois|first=Valerie|title=CHAPTER 2 - Laboratory Evaluation at Different Ages|date=2008-01-01|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780323048835500088|work=Comprehensive Pediatric Nephrology|pages=39–54|editor-last=Geary|editor-first=Denis F.|place=Philadelphia|publisher=Mosby|language=en|doi=10.1016/b978-0-323-04883-5.50008-8|isbn=978-0-323-04883-5|access-date=2022-02-11|editor2-last=Schaefer|editor2-first=Franz|url-access=subscription}}</ref> To determine the glomerular filtration rate in humans, a large initial dose of inulin is injected, which is followed by a constant infusion of inulin at a rate which compensates for its loss in the urine, thus maintaining a reasonably constant level in the plasma.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wright |first=Samson |title=Samson Wright's applied physiology |date=1972 |publisher=English Language Book Society, and Oxford University Press |others=Cyril Arthur Keele, Neil Eric |isbn=0-19-263321-X |edition=12th |location=London |oclc=396722036}}</ref>{{rp|228}} In the United States, [[creatinine]] clearance is more widely used to estimate GFR.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Joffe|first1=Marshall|last2=Hsu|first2=Chi-yuan|last3=Feldman|first3=Harold I.|last4=Weir|first4=Matthew|last5=Landis|first5=J.R.|last6=Hamm|first6=L. Lee|date=2010|title=Variability of Creatinine Measurements in Clinical Laboratories: Results from the CRIC Study|url=https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/296250|journal=American Journal of Nephrology|language=en|volume=31|issue=5|pages=426–434|doi=10.1159/000296250|issn=1421-9670|pmc=2883847|pmid=20389058}}</ref>

A 2017 [[systematic review]] of low-to-moderate quality [[clinical trial]] research showed that [[dietary supplement|dietary supplementation]] with inulin-type [[fructans]] reduced blood levels of [[low-density cholesterol]], a [[biomarker]] of [[cardiovascular disease]].<ref name=liu/>