Potential applications of hydrophobically modified inulin as an active ingredient in functional foods and drugs - A review

Over the past few years, hydrophobically modified inulin (HMI) has gained considerable attention due to its multitudinous features. The targeted release of drugs remains a subject of research interest. Moreover, it is important to explore the properties of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) inulin esters because they are less studied. Additionally, HMI has been used to stabilize various dispersion formulations, which have been observed to be safe because inulin is generally recognized as safe (GRAS). However, the results regarding HMI-based dispersion products are dispersed throughout the literature. This comprehensive review is discussed the possible limitations regarding SCFAs inulin esters, real food dispersion formulations, and HMI drugs. The results revealed that SCFAs inulin esters can regulate the human gut microbiota and increase the biological half-life of SCFAs in the human body. This comprehensive review discusses the versatility of HMI as a promising excipient for the production of hydrophobic drugs.