Chemical Composition and Inulin Chemistry

• Published in: Biology and Chemistry of Jerusalem Artichoke pp. 71 - 114
• Main Authors: Kays, Stanley J., Nottingham, Stephen F.
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United Kingdom CRC Press 2008; Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Agricultural science; Botany & plant sciences; CHEMISTRY; Cobalamin; Helianthus Tuberosus; Similar Bonds; Jerusalem Artichoke Tubers; Crude Protein; Fructose Polymers; Tuber Dry Weight; Jerusalem Artichoke; Storage Roots; Monounsaturated Fatty Acids; Crude Protein Content; Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids; Fresh Weight; Tuber Protein; Glutamic Acid; Raw Raw; Saturated Fatty Acids; Vitamin D; Asparatic Acid; Dietary Fiber; Tuber Dry Matter; Essential Amino Acids; Glucosidic Bonds; Dp 3
• ISBN: 1420044958; 9781420044959
• DOI: 10.1201/9781420044966-8

Plants sequester carbon in specialized reproductive organs (e.g., storage roots, tubers, and seeds) as a source of energy and as carbon skeletons for the onset of growth the following season. Starch, a polymer of glucose, is the most prevalent form of stored carbon. It is composed of a mixture of straight-chain (amylose) and branched (amylopectin) molecules, the ratio of which is genetically controlled. Amylose contains 200 to 1,000 glucose subunits linked viaα-(1-4) glucosidic bonds, while amylopectin is substantially larger, 2,000 to 200,000 subunits with similar bonds; however, every 20 to 25 glucose molecules there is a branch formed through anα-(1-6) bond (Kays and Paull, 2004). Inulin, in contrast, is a mixture of fructose polymers used as a means of carbon storage in a number of species, though as the primary storage form of carbon in only a few species, including Jerusalem artichoke.