Editing Inulin (section)

==Biochemistry==
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2021}}
Inulins are [[polymer]]s composed mainly of fructose units ([[Fructan|fructans]]), and typically have a terminal [[glucose]]. The fructose units in inulins are joined by a β(2→1) [[glycosidic bond]]. The molecule is almost exclusively linear, with only a few percent branching.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Kays |first1=Stanley J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XwZJN1HSajcC&pg=PA58 |title=Biology and Chemistry of Jerusalem Artichoke: Helianthus tuberosus L. |last2=Nottingham |first2=Stephen F. |date=2007-08-13 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-4200-4496-6 |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|58}} In general, plant inulins contain between 2 and 70 fructose units<ref name=":0" />{{rp|58}} or sometimes as high as 200,<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Rauter |first1=Amélia P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u4RWrMh8JR0C&pg=PA17 |title=Carbohydrates in Sustainable Development I |last2=Vogel |first2=Pierre |last3=Queneau |first3=Yves |date=2010-09-20 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-642-14836-1 |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|17}} but molecules with less than 10 units are called fructo-oligosaccharides, the simplest being 1-[[trisaccharide|kestose]], which has two fructose units and one glucose unit. Bacterial inulin is more highly branched (more than 15% branching) and contains on the order of tens or hundreds of subunits.<ref name=":1" />{{rp|17}}

Inulins are  named in the following manner, where '''n''' is the number of fructose residues and '''py''' is the abbreviation for [[pyranose|pyranosyl]]:
* Inulins ''with'' a terminal glucose are known as ''alpha''-D-glucopyranosyl-[beta-D-fructofuranosyl](n-1)-D-fructofuranosides, abbreviated as '''GpyFn'''.
* Inulins ''without'' glucose are ''beta''-D-fructopyranosyl-[D-fructofuranosyl](n-1)-D-fructofuranosides, abbreviated as '''FpyFn'''.

Hydrolysis of inulins may yield fructo-oligosaccharides, which are oligomers with a [[degree of polymerization]] (DP) of 10 or less.