Research progress of inulin and its mechanism in regulating host intestinal flora

With the improvement of human life quality,the importance of healthy diet attracts more and more attention. There is a good prospect for the market of the functional health foods,which consist oligosaccharides,such as inulin,as an important component. The origin,structure,isolation and extraction of inulin were introduced in this review. The mechanism of inulin in regulating host intestinal flora structure was summarized from the perspectives of antioxidant activity,microbiology population,anti-inflammatory,gene regulation and degree of polymerization of inulin.