## 3 Results
### Physicochemical Characterization of Dandelion Inulin  
The physicochemical characteristics of the inulin-type fructans from dandelion roots obtained by different extraction techniques are listed in Table 2. The characteristics of dandelion inulin were compared with commercial chicory inulin Raftiline HPX. The highest yield was obtained during classical water extraction--20%, while the lowest was found for dandelion inulin after microwave-assisted extraction--11%. The highest purity of inulin was detected in MAE dandelion inulin--89%, followed by UAE--82%. However, the highest total fructose content 74% was found in inulin extracted by UAE. The ultrasound-assisted extraction led to the isolation of inulin from the dandelion with the highest molecular weights, the highest degree of polymerization (DP = 22), and a polydispersity index of 1.05. As regards the polydispersity index, it is known that the higher values of the index correspond to a greater spread of the molecular weight. The polydispersity index impacts the physical properties (melting point, crystallization, and dissolution) and also affects the tensile strength, viscosity, and thermal characteristics of polysaccharides. Moreover, the main effect of the index is related to polymer aggregation. For example, a polymer with a low index value (\(\approx\)1) will have a narrow molecular weight distribution, causing more uniform behavior in solution and thus more predictable aggregation patterns presumably. On the other hand, a higher value leads to a more complex network structure, as longer chains can generate junctions with other chains, potentially generating stronger gels or network formation. All dandelion inulin showed a negative angle of optical rotation \(-\)25 \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline
**Carbohydrate Content, g/100 g Dry weight** & **Dandelion Roots** \\ \hline Total fructans & 25.35 \(\pm\) 0.14 \\ \hline Inulin & 16.10 \(\pm\) 0.01 \\ \hline Nystose & 3.10 \(\pm\) 0.02 \\ \hline
1-Kestose & 1.62 \(\pm\) 0.80 \\ \hline Sucrose & 3.36 \(\pm\) 0.50 \\ \hline Glucose & 0.48 \(\pm\) 0.23 \\ \hline Fructose & 1.43 \(\pm\) 0.20 \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Fructans and sugar composition of defatted dandelion roots. and pH values 6-7, as well as a high melting point of 178-180 \({}^{\circ}\)C, comparable with chicory inulin Rafiline HPX. In general, dandelion inulin obtained by classical extraction was characterized by the lowest purity 71%, fructose content 72%, and the highest ash and protein content: 3.31% and 1.8%, respectively. The dandelion inulin isolated in our study contained a small total phenolic content (0.82-0.60 mg GAE/g). We did not detect any phenolic content in the chicory inulin Rafiline HPX (Beneo, Orafti). In our case, the antioxidant potential of dandelion inulin samples was evaluated by FRAP and ABST methods. It was found that the inulin samples demonstrated a very low antioxidant potential, and better radical-scavenging properties evaluated by the ABTS method than metal reducing (FRAP assay), based on electron transfer (Table 1). These properties could be explained by the presence of a small amount of protein and total phenols in samples. Amongst all the samples, the highest antioxidant activity by both methods was demonstrated by dandelion inulin isolated by classical extraction, also showing a higher total phenols content. From the above-mentioned results, it is obvious that the long time and high temperature employed during conventional extraction led to a decrease in the quality of the  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Characteristics** & **Classical Extraction** & \begin{tabular}{c} **Ultrasound-Assisted** \\ **Extraction** \\ \end{tabular}  & \ \begin{tabular}{c} **Microwave-Assisted** \\ **Extraction** \\ \end{tabular}  & \begin{tabular}{c} **Chicory Inulin** \\ **Raftiline HPX (DP = 25)** \\ \end{tabular}