How Is Fructose Extracted From Sunchoke?

Root of the chicory plant is also a high source of fibrous inulin sugar.

The tuberous, rootlike sunchoke plant is one of the highest sources of a complex sugar called inulin. Sunchoke is considered a suitable starch substitute, especially for diabetics. Once consumed, the sugars in the sunchoke form fructose molecules instead of glucose.

Inulin

From the oligofructose family, inulin is an alternative sugar that contains many (oligo) saccharide (sugar) units. Inulin resists breakdown by intestinal digestive enzymes in the human body because of its complex form, which makes it a healthy and natural fiber source. Inulin produces fructose when extracted from naturally occurring foods, including sunchoke, chicory root and other tubers.

Fructose Extraction

Chemical extraction of sugar from sunchoke involves enzymatic breakdown with water, starting with inulin and ending with fructose. The sunchoke tuber is macerated into a pulp using water and inulase, a specific enzyme that breaks up inulin. The addition of hydrogen and oxygen from water breaks the bonds between the sugar units that make up the inulin compound, and the resulting sugars are further refined into fructose. Fructose can be in syrup/solution form or powder form, if the water is evaporated out.

Natural Extractions

There are also ways to naturally obtain fructose from sunchoke. If you keep a sunchoke in a cold environment like a refrigerator, or store it in the ground, the inulin bonds will eventually break up into singular fructose molecules. It is more difficult, however, to get the maximum amount of fructose using natural sugar refinement techniques.

References

• Bellevue Club Reflections: Exotic Edibles
• Journal of Nutrition: Nutritional and Health Benefits of Inulin and Oligofructose
• FreePatentsOnline.com: Production of High Fructose Syrup from Inulin involving Ultrafiltration --- Patent 4421852
• "Biology," 7th Ed.; Neil Campbell and Jane Reece; 2005
• LocalHarvest.org: Sunchokes (Jerusalem Artichokes)