The Jerusalem Artichoke (JA) (Helianthus tuberosus L.) is an annual plant native to North America and widely distributed in Europe and Central Asia. The tuber of JA contains 80% water, 15% polysaccharide (Inulin etc.), 2% protein, and a small amount of starch and fat. Inulin is a polysaccharide that is widely used as a prebiotic, fat substitute, and sugar substitute. This substance has high biological activity and is contained in large quantities.
The purpose of this study was to standardize the quality and safety of dried tubers of JA. Standardization includes parameters such as microscopic analysis, identification, quantification, validation of methods following the guidelines issued by ICH guidelines, and quality, including safety analysis (appearance, moisture, mechanical impurities, heavy metals, microbiological purity).
The content of inulin was 64.17±1.25%. The mean relative standard deviation of method validation (RMS%) was 1.27%, 1.18%, 1.22%, and the relative mean standard deviation (RMS) of method precision was 1.94%. The specific absorbance was 307 nm. The correlation coefficient R2=0.9998 was obtained for the reference curve of the standard substance. The detection limit of the method was 2.64 μg/ml, and the detection limit was 7.99 μg/ml.
The method mentioned above has been confirmed to be suitable for the quantitative determination of inulin in the tuber of JA. Moreover, Microbiological purity and heavy metal requirements are met.