Inulin is one of the most commonly used and most effective prebiotics .
From the chemical point of view, inulin is not simply one molecule.
It is a polydisperse b(2-1) fructan.
The fructose units in this mixture of linear fructose polymers and oligomers are each connected by b(2-1) bonds.
A glucose molecule typically resides at the end of each fructose chain and is connected by an a(1-2) bond, as in sucrose.
The chain lengths of these fructans range 2–60 units, with an average DP of ~10.