**3. Plant sources of fructans**

Inulin is abundant in structures such as bulbs, tubers, and tuberous roots of grasses and flowering plants belonging to Liliaceae (3500 species) and Compositae (25,000 species) families. Such plants, for example, asparagus, wheat, rye, and dahlias, mostly lack starch and thus synthesize inulin as energy store house. A wide array of inulin-rich plants with their inulin content is symbolized graphically (**Figure 2**) [3].

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**Figure 3.**

rotundifolia*.*

*Bioconversion of Weedy Waste into Sugary Wealth DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91316*

**3.1 Agave**

**3.2** *Cosmos bipinnatus*

into invasive weed [1].

Jerusalem artichoke (*Helianthus tuberosus*) and chicory (*Cichorium intybus*) are common commercialized inulin source available in market. The fleshy tap root of chicory serves as warehoused of inulin (70–80%) [4]. Depending upon the growth stage of chicory, either inulin or oligofructose can be obtained captivatingly. After full root development and inflorescence axis arrival, endoinulinase hydrolyzes inulin into oligofructose, and exoinulinase further converts it into fructose. Most European countries have officially recognized inulin, oligofructose, and fructose as natural food ingredients, thereby having vast fascinating functional features that are beneficial to satisfy the needs of industries for imminent healthy food formulations. The present work currently focuses on two invasive home-grown (*Tithonia rotundifolia* and *Cosmos bipinnatus*) and

*Agave* is the most taxonomically diverse members of family Agavaceae. They are been surviving in extreme conditions by adapting themselves morphologically and physiologically. To escape transpirational water loss, they conduct crassulacean acid metabolism, thus liberating fructans as the chief photosynthetic product. *A. sisalana* was the common species found throughout Asia with rich inulin content, thus being

*Cosmos bipinnatus* of Asteraceae family is commonly famous as garden cosmos or Mexican aster, which is an inulin comprising weedy annual herb exotic for India. It has acclimatized on infertile, sandy soils along roadsides, exposed slopes, fence lines, hedgerows, or background areas as an ornamental plant getting transmuted

It belongs to family Asteraceae/Compositae and is commonly known as red sunflower, rooisonneblom, Japanese sunflower, shrub sunflower, and tree marigold. It is rich in inulin [6]. Thus, it serves as renewable raw material for fructose syrup (d-fructose) production. It is also grown as a green manure. But its high propagation frequency has forced to classify it as alien, invasive, competitive, allelopathic [7], noxious category 1 weed. There are reports on these weeds competing with crop plants and shading out native vegetation in the humid and subhumid tropics of South America, South East Asia, and tropical and subtropical Africa. Thus, the overall deleterious impressions put forth by this weed need to be rectified by an ecofriendly way.

*Inulin-rich weeds under present investigation: (a)* Agave sisalana*, (b)* Cosmos bipinnatus*, and (c)* Tithonia

one universally studied (*Agave sisalana*) inulin-rich weed species (**Figure 3**).

used as substrate for alcohol and inulinase synthesis [5].

**3.3** *Tithonia rotundifolia* **(Mill.) S. F. Blake**

**Figure 2.** *Schematic depiction of inulin content in variety of inulin consisting plants.*

*Bioconversion of Weedy Waste into Sugary Wealth DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91316*

Jerusalem artichoke (*Helianthus tuberosus*) and chicory (*Cichorium intybus*) are common commercialized inulin source available in market. The fleshy tap root of chicory serves as warehoused of inulin (70–80%) [4]. Depending upon the growth stage of chicory, either inulin or oligofructose can be obtained captivatingly. After full root development and inflorescence axis arrival, endoinulinase hydrolyzes inulin into oligofructose, and exoinulinase further converts it into fructose. Most European countries have officially recognized inulin, oligofructose, and fructose as natural food ingredients, thereby having vast fascinating functional features that are beneficial to satisfy the needs of industries for imminent healthy food formulations. The present work currently focuses on two invasive home-grown (*Tithonia rotundifolia* and *Cosmos bipinnatus*) and one universally studied (*Agave sisalana*) inulin-rich weed species (**Figure 3**).
