BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Tag: gluten

Read it and wheat…

Wheat, corn, and rice are the most important crops around the world. As someone who enjoys baking, wheat is the base of almost all the desserts and bread recipes I bake. However, as I have become more interested in baking various types of bread, I wondered how gluten is formed and how bread textures change based on how long I kneaded the dough. According to Jessica R Biesiekierski in her article “What is Gluten”, Gluten is “complex mixture of hundreds of related but distinct proteins, mainly gliadin and glutenin.” The gluten matrix is essential to the quality of bread dough. It has the ability to act as a “binding” agent and is also used in marinades and even capsules in medication.  The biology of gluten and its structure depend on the ration of glutenin and gliadins. Each component has different functions that can effect “viscoelasticity”. In her article Biesiekiersk, worked to find evidence that “exposure to gluten may be increasing with changes in cereal technology”. There are many diets and intolerances caused by gluten such as the gluten free diet, gluten disorders, coeliac disease wheat allergy and sensitivity. In conclusion of their study, they determined “Gluten is a complex protein network and plays a key role in determining the rheological dough properties and baking qualities.” However, they came across a challenged. They learned that protein structure can “vary dependent on several factors”. Ultimately, make “analysis and definitions difficult”. And overall they conclude that “further work is needed to completely understand non-coeliac gluten sensitive”.

Another study that researched viscoelasticity is by is Peter R. Shewry, Nigel G. Halford, Peter S. Belton, and Arthur S. Tatham studied “The structure properties of gluten: an elastic protein from wheat grain”. According to Science Direct, viscoelasticity refers to a material’s tendency to act like a fluid or a solid. An additional article that explores viscoelasticity.

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They manipulate the “amount and composition” of HMM subunits concerning the strength or change of gluten structure and properties. These scholars describe wheat as a plant with many properties, however, they emphasized “viscoelasticity”. In terms of this research, viscoelasticity is “the balance between the extensibility and elasticity determining the end use quality.” The scholars use the dough as an example stating that “ highly elastic (‘strong’) doughs are required for bread making but, more extensible doughs are required for making cakes and biscuits”. In the study, these scholars focused on the HMM protein subunits of gluten. At least 50 different types of gluten proteins can be produced during the kneading process; however, these researchers have chosen to focus on the HMM subunits of glutenin. HMM, subunits, X type, and Y type can be only found on one chromosome in wheat cells. These two subunits are 70 % accountable for the viscoelastic variations in bread. This presentation allowed the researcher to see how stable and unstable the subunits were which would play a role in their ability to interact with peptides. In addition, these peptides may relate to the role of gluten in stabilizing the structures and interactions of the subunits.

US Navy 050102-N-5837R-011 Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Joshua Savoy and Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Davy Nugent prepares bread in the bakery aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) Both articles emphasized the importance of protein structure. AP Biology greatly emphasizes the importance of Organic compounds. Proteins have a few structures that are ultimately composed of sequences of amino acids to create polypeptide chains. From primary structure proteins can become more complex by forming alpha helixes and beta pleated sheets. From that point 3D structures can be made. Gluten has a very structure characterized by “high allelic polymorphism encoding its specific proteins, glutenin, and gliadin”. This leads to wheat producing “unique types and quantities of these compounds”, these types and quantities can vary based off “growing conditions and technological processes”.

Could non-gluten proteins play a role in celiac disease?

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Gluten refers to the proteins found in wheat endosperm. Wheat endosperm is a type of tissue produced in seeds that’s ground to make flour.  It is composed of two different proteins: gliadin (a prolamin protein) and glutenin (a glutelin protein). Today, there are many questions being asked about whether we should be consuming gluten.

In today’s society, one of the new healthy trends is to be gluten free. However, for those with celiac disease, it is necessary to be gluten free. Celiac disease is a condition that damages the lining of the small intestine. It prevents the intestine from absorbing parts of food that are important for staying healthy. In this article, questions are raised regarding research that claims that people with celiac disease also have reactions to non-gluten proteins.

From research, scientists have discovered that when someone with celiac disease eats gluten (group of proteins), it causes an immune reaction. Such symptoms are diarrhea, abdominal pain, anemia, and nutritional deficiencies. The current treatments are to avoid all gluten-containing foods. Armin Alaedini, Susan B. Altenbach, and their colleagues wanted to further investigate this.  They found that people with celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis (a rash associated with the disease) had an immune reaction to five groups of non-gluten proteins. From this, Scientists concluded that further studies regarding celiac disease and gluten should test and include non-gluten proteins.

In addition, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the way to test for celiac disease is through a blood test and then a follow up biopsy on the small intestine. When people have celiac disease and it goes untreated, their body is not receiving the necessary nutrients in order for the body to grow.

I chose this article because I try to be extremely conscious of making healthy eating choices. I have found that a lot of foods don’t agree with me but bread/ gluten has never been a concern. I know people who have celiac disease and are gluten-free. However, I also know people who do not have celiac disease and eat a gluten-free diet anyway. In some cases, people who have done this have found that it damages their stomach and ruins their ability to eat gluten. I researched this topic because I wanted to learn the truth behind a gluten-free diet and when that diet is truly necessary and appropriate.

Are you gluten-free? Do you have celiac disease? Have you ever tried gluten-free products?

 

http://celiac.org/celiac-disease/what-is-celiac-disease/

http://www.livescience.com/39726-what-is-gluten.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten

http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/digestive-diseases/celiac-disease/Pages/ez.aspx

Article Link: http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2014/11/05/could_nongluten_proteins_play_a_role_in_celiac_disease.html

 

 

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