1: J Nutr. 2002 Dec;132(12):3599-602.  

Dietary chicory inulin increases whole-body bone mineral density in growing male
rats.

Roberfroid MB, Cumps J, Devogelaer JP.

Universite Catholique de Louvain, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
roberfroid@pmnt.ucl.ac.be

Chicory inulin is a natural linear fructan that is not digested in the upper
part of the gastrointestinal tract but is fermented in the cecocolon. It
enhances calcium absorption in rats and improves femur and tibia mineral
contents in gastrectomized or ovariectomized rats. We studied the effect of
inulin (0, 5 and 10 g/100 g diet) on whole-body bone mineral content (WBBMC),
whole-body bone area (WBBA) and whole-body bone mineral density (WBBMD) in live,
growing male rats fed diets containing 0.2, 0.5 or 1 g Ca/100 g. Three
experiments, each corresponding to one of the different dietary Ca
concentrations, were performed using male Wistar rats (n = 108; 4 wk old). WBBMC
was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry every 4 wk up to wk 22. Inulin
increased WBBMC (P < 0.05) and WBBMD (P < 0.001) significantly but not WBBA at
all ages and all dietary calcium concentrations. This is the first report to
demonstrate that chicory inulin not only increases calcium absorption but also
increases mineral parameters in whole-body bones.

PMID: 12468594 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]