Theinulin is a soluble dietary fiber belonging to the family of fructans, consisting of chains of fructose molecules mainly linked by β-(2→1) bonds. Naturally present in numerous plants — including chicory (Cichorium intybus), Jerusalem artichoke, agave, asparagus, artichokes, onions and garlic — is today one of the most used functional ingredients by the food industry thanks to its technological, nutritional and physiological properties. Over the last two decades, scientific interest has grown significantly, especially for the role of inulin as prebiotic fiber capable of favorably modulating the intestinal microbiota and contributing to digestive and systemic health.
History: from ‘Alantin’ to functional ingredient
Inulin was first isolated in 1804 by the Berlin pharmacist and chemist Valentin Rose, who extracted it by boiling from the root of Inula helenium (elecampane), initially naming it ‘Alantin‘. The name ‘inulin‘, proposed by the Scottish botanist Thomas Thomson in 1817, derived directly from the Latin name of the plant and was universally adopted. The medicinal properties of chicory root — which contains about 40% inulin by weight — were already known in antiquity: the Roman physician Pedanius Dioscorides, in the 1st century AD, documented its beneficial effects on the stomach, liver and kidneys (Niness & Schneeman, 1999, as cited in Roberfroid, 2007).
The food use of plants rich in fructans is, however, much older than the chemical isolation: chicory, Jerusalem artichoke, and related species have been consumed for centuries in Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. In the 19th century, roasted chicory spread as a coffee substitute, especially during periods of import shortages. 1874 It was observed that diabetic patients subjected to a daily diet of 100 g of inulin lost glycosuria, anticipating by more than a century the modern clinical interest in the impact of fiber on carbohydrate metabolism (Roberfroid, 2007). Industrial interest in inulin began to take shape in the 1980s, when its prebiotic properties and the ability to improve the consistency and nutritional profile of foods.
Industrial production and global market
Commercial inulin is obtained almost exclusively from chicory root, which represents the primary industrial source worldwide. The production process includes: harvesting and washing of roots; slicing into strips; hot water extraction; purification by filtration; concentration and drying into powder. From a chemical point of view, inulin is a mixture of fructans with different degrees of polymerization (DP): chain length significantly influences technological and physiological properties. Controlled enzymatic hydrolysis producesoligofructose (FOS), characterized by shorter chains, greater sweetness, and faster fermentability compared to native inulin (Roberfroid, 2007). Europe maintains a dominant position thanks to the presence of established operators such as BENEO-Orafti, Cosucra, and Sensus.
The value of market global of inulin has been estimated at about 1.84 billion dollars in 2024 and could reach 2.71 billion dollars by 2030, with a CAGR of 6,7% in the period 2025–2030; theEurope represents the 40,9% of the world market, chicory accounts for 73.8% of the source share, the powder format dominates with 77% of volumes, and the food & beverage segment absorbs 61.9% of uses (Grand View Research, 2024). It should be noted that market projections come from private market intelligence firms—the CAGRs indicated by different analysts range between 5.4% and 7% depending on the time horizon and methodology—and not from institutional sources; however, all analyses agree in noting a sustained growth in demand, driven by the development of functional foods, the spread of fiber-rich diets and the increasing attention of consumers to microbiota health.
Nutritional properties and health benefits
Intestinal functionality and EU health claim
The only ‘health claim’ on inulin authorized to date in the European Union concerns the favorable contribution to intestinal function:
- after EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) verified the existence of a cause-effect relationship between the consumption of inulin extracted from chicory and the maintenance of normal defecation by increasing the frequency of bowel movements (EFSA NDA Panel, 2015)
- the European Commission authorized the indication ‘Chicory inulin contributes to normal intestinal functions thanks to an increase in the frequency of evacuation‘, provided that
- the consumer is ‘informed that thebeneficial effect is obtained with the daily intake of 12 g of chicory inulin’;
- this indication can only be used for ‘foods that provide a daily intake of at least 12 g of inulin extracted from chicory, an unfractionated mixture of monosaccharides (< 10 %), disaccharides, inulin-type fructans and inulin extracted from chicory with a degree of polymerization ≥ 9’.
Research on the potential benefits of inulin for human health meanwhile continues on several fronts, from the microbiota to joint pain management.
Prebiotic fiber and microbiota
Inulin resists digestion in the small intestine and reaches the colon almost intact, where it is fermented by the intestinal microbiota. Numerous clinical studies have shown that inulin selectively promotes the growth of bifidobacteria and other beneficial microorganisms, exerting a prebiotic effect recognized by the scientific community (Sanders et al., 2019; Gibson et al., 2017). Fermentation produces short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) — acetate, propionate and butyrate — associated with multiple beneficial physiological effects on metabolism, inflammation, and intestinal barrier function.
Recent research explores the mechanisms of these effects. Fagundes & Colgan (2026) demonstrated that inulin reprograms metabolism and proliferation of intestinal epithelial cells through the HIF1α factor, suggesting a role in the regeneration of the intestinal mucosa. Martínez-Gopar et al. (2026) have documented how inulin modulates the intestinal barrier through specific molecular mechanisms, with clinical implications for inflammatory bowel diseases. Monteiro et al. (2026) confirm the role of inulin in supporting themicrobiota homeostasis, in an updated systematic review, with increasing clinical evidence for various metabolic and inflammatory diseases. Ramkissoon et al. (2026) in turn demonstrated that prebiotics — including inulin — enhance the recovery of the microbiota after dysbiosis induced by antibiotics.
Joint pain: the emerging frontier
The INSPIRE randomized clinical trial, conducted by the University of Nottingham and published in 2026 in Nutrients, demonstrated that a daily supplementation of 20 g of inulin for six weeks significantly reduces pain, improves grip strength and lowers pain sensitivity in adults with knee osteoarthritis. The effect is believed to be mediated by an increase in butyrate and GLP-1 — an intestinal hormone involved in pain regulation and muscle health — with a dropout rate of only 3.6%, compared to 21% in the digital physiotherapy group (Kouraki et al., 2026). This is a preliminary result, but it opens original research perspectives on the so-called gut–joint axis.
Applications as ingredient
Inulin simultaneously performs nutritional and technological functions in various categories of food products.
In protein bars and functional snacks inulin is used to increase fiber content, improve texture and structure, contribute to sweetness, and reduce added sugars. In breakfast cereals it increases the fiber profile of granolas and mueslis. In yogurts and fermented milks the combination with probiotics gives rise to ‘symbiotic’ products: recent studies document their efficacy in fermented buttermilk-based beverages (de Oliveira E Sousa et al., 2026) and antimicrobial effects in kefir with galactooligosaccharides (Gülbandilar et al., 2026). In Baked goods it improves fiber content and reduces energy content. In ice creams and desserts high DP inulin forms microcrystals and creamy structures, allowing partial fat replacement. In dietary supplements it is widely present in formulations dedicated to intestinal health and microbiota support.
Preliminary conclusions
Inulin represents one of the most studied and employed functional ingredients in the contemporary food sector. Its nature as prebiotic fiber — associated with versatile technological properties — has favored its spread in numerous food categories. The strongest evidence concerns the improvement of intestinal function and the modulation of the microbiota, with a specific health claim authorized in the EU. Recent research expands the activity profile of inulin towards new areas, including chronic joint pain, post-antibiotic recovery, and protection of the intestinal epithelial barrier. The expansion of the functional food market and the strategiesof reformulation make a further increase in its use likely in the coming years.
Dario Dongo
Credit cover Rafael Minguet Delgado
References
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012 of 16 May 2012 establishing a list of permitted health claims made on foods, other than those referring to the reduction of disease risk and to children’s development and health. Consolidated text: 20/08/2025 http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2012/432/2017-08-22
- de Oliveira E Sousa, F., Santos Ismerio, D., Sloboda Cortez, M. A., de Toledo Guimarães, J., & Kasnowski Holanda Duarte, M. C. (2026). Development of a functional fermented dairy beverage from buttermilk. The Journal of Dairy Research, 93(1), 175–183. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002202992510188X
- EFSA NDA Panel (EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies). (2015). Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of a health claim related to native chicory inulin and maintenance of normal defecation by increasing stool frequency pursuant to Article 13(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. EFSA Journal, 13(1), 3951. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2015.3951
- Fagundes, R. R., & Colgan, S. P. (2026). Feeding microbes to feed the gut: inulin reprograms intestinal epithelial metabolism and proliferation through HIF1α. Gut Microbes, 18(1), 2644684. https://doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2026.2644684
- Gibson, G. R., Hutkins, R., Sanders, M. E., Prescott, S. L., Reimer, R. A., Salminen, S. J., Scott, K., Stanton, C., Swanson, K. S., Cani, P. D., Verbeke, K., & Reid, G. (2017). The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) consensus statement on the definition and scope of prebiotics. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 14(8), 491–502. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2017.75
- Grand View Research. (2024). Inulin market size, share & trends analysis report, 2025–2030. Grand View Research. https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/inulin-market
- Gülbandilar, A., Çalişir, N., & Aksu, M. İ. (2026). Determination of the antimicrobial effects of synbiotic kefir produced from buffalo milk enriched with galactooligosaccharides and inulin. ACS Omega, 11(4), 6035–6049. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.5c10532
- Kouraki, A., Franks, S., Vijay, A., Kurien, T., Taylor, M. A., Smith, S. L., Smith, B., Kelly, A., & Valdes, A. M. (2026). Effect of prebiotic supplementation with and without physiotherapy on pain and pain sensitivity in people with knee osteoarthritis. Nutrients, 18(5), 714. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18050714
- Martínez-Gopar, P. E., Guzmán-Mejía, F., Godínez-Victoria, M., Flores-Valente, J., Molotla-Torres, D. E., & Drago-Serrano, M. E. (2026). Inulin as a modulator of the intestinal barrier: experimental evidence, mechanisms and clinical implications. Biomedicines, 14(4), 791. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines14040791
- Monteiro, C. R. A. V., Bogea, E. G., Campos, C. D. L., Pereira-Filho, J. L., Almeida, V. S. S., Vale, A. A. M., Azevedo-Santos, A. P. S., & Monteiro-Neto, V. (2026). Prebiotics and gut health: mechanisms, clinical evidence, and future directions. Nutrients, 18(3), 372. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18030372
- Ramkissoon, P., DuCasse, A., Berman, I., Sadanaga, J., O’Neill, I., & Gondek, D. C. (2026). Prebiotics enhance microbiome recovery following antibiotic-induced dysbiosis. Microorganisms, 14(5), 1079. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14051079
- Roberfroid, M. B. (2007). Inulin-type fructans: functional food ingredients. The Journal of Nutrition, 137(11 Suppl.), 2493S–2502S. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/137.11.2493S
- Sanders, M. E., Merenstein, D. J., Reid, G., Gibson, G. R., & Rastall, R. A. (2019). Probiotics and prebiotics in intestinal health and disease: from biology to the clinic. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 16(10), 605–616. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-019-0173-3
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT – Food Times) and Égalité.
