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Gluten in Cereal-Based Foods - Benefits and Risks
P. KOEHLER (1). (1) Deutsche Forschungsanstlt fuer Lebensmittelchemie, Freising, Germany

The techno-functional properties of gluten in breadmaking are caused by its structure. It is generally accepted that the quantity of gluten as well as its quality are the key determinants of gluten functionality. Gluten quality is reflected by its composition with gliadins and glutenins as functional constituents. One important factor that determines gluten quality is a suitable ratio of gliadins/glutenins, which should be in the range of 1.5 to 2.3. The second factor is the content of glutenin macropolymer (gel protein) showing concentrations of 20 to 40 mg/g of flour. These concentration-based parameters as well as the amounts and ratios of individual protein types and subunits are accessible by extraction/HPLC- or capillary electrophoretic methods and provide a good prediction of the breadmaking performance of wheat flour. However, beside its techno-functionality gluten is also an unwanted food ingredient for a considerable part of the population because different types of gluten intolerances exist such as wheat allergy, celiac disease, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Symptoms range from intestinal damage to skin and respiratory problems. Although these disorders have different causes the common therapy for patients is a gluten-free diet. This means a severe restriction of the quality of life since cereal products causing coeliac disease are staple foods for most people. Common raw materials used for these products are maize, sorghum, rice, buckwheat, or chestnut. As these base materials lack the techno-functionality of wheat gluten, thickening agents such as locust bean gum, guar gum, or hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose are used as gluten replacers, although the mechanism of action of these ingredients is different from gluten. To ensure the safety of gluten-free foods, methods for reliable gluten quantitation are urgently needed.

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