INULIN AND DRIED CHICORY ROOT
Chicory inulin is a fructose polymer (fructo-oligosaccharide) and is naturally present in various plants but particularly in chicory root. It is a soluble fibre composed of molecules whose chains contain an average of 7 units of fructose and end with a unit of glucose.
A SOFT WATER EXTRACTION PROCESS
Inulin is extracted from chicory root through a soft process using hot water, similar to processes used in the production of sugar beet. The first stage is composed of obtaining a liquid concentration from the chicory root. These juices are then purified into fibre in either liquid or spray-dried to powder form.
CHICORY INULIN ACTS AS A PREBIOTIC
Monogastrics do not digest inulin in the stomach, but this carbohydrate is exclusively fermented by the acidophilic flora in the large intestine. The products of this fermentation – the bacterial mass and the free fatty acids – are absorbed by the subject. The stimulation of the bifidogenic bacterial flora favourably affects immunity.
CHICORY INULIN HAS VARIOUS BENEFITS FOR INTESTINAL FLORA :
- Regulation of the faecal mass volume and of intestinal transit;
- Acidification of the intestinal content and development of free fatty acids (essentially butyric acid);
- Improved assimilation of minerals (Ca, Mg, etc.);
- Reduction of ammonium production in the large intestine in monogastrics, or in the rumen of bovines;
- Selective stimulation of bifidogenic bacteria: guarantee of better immunity.
