Gluten | 13 Nov 2024
Gluten, a protein complex primarily found in wheat, barley, and rye, is celebrated for its utility in the food industry but is infamous for causing gluten-related disorders like coeliac disease, a condition affecting around 2% of the population.
- Gluten is composed of proteins, mainly gliadins and glutenins, formed when water is added to certain cereal flours.
- It provides elasticity to dough, allowing it to rise and imparting chewiness to baked products.
- Naturally found, it can be extracted, concentrated, and incorporated into food and other products to enhance protein content, texture, and flavor.
- Gluten resists complete digestion due to the enzyme protease being inefficient in breaking it down. Undigested gluten may lead to gastrointestinal disorders.
- A protease, also called a peptidase, proteinase, or proteolytic enzyme, is an enzyme that degrades proteins into smaller polypeptides or amino acids.
- Coeliac Disease is an autoimmune condition triggered by gluten that damages the small intestine, prompting the immune system to produce a large number of antibodies that attack the body’s own proteins.
- Maintaining a diet very low in gluten is the only effective way to treat coeliac disease at present.
Read more: Celiac Disease - Drishti IAS