Gluten

Wheat seed, sectioned to reveal endosperm and embryo

Wheat — a prime source of gluten

Gluten /gloot-en/ is a composite of the proteins gliadin and glutenin. These proteins are found in the endosperms of some grass-like grains such as wheat, rye and barley. Gliadin and glutenin make up about 80% of the protein contained in wheat seed. As they are insoluble in water, they can be got by washing away the starch in the grain. Worldwide, gluten is an important source of food protein, both in foods prepared directly from grains with gluten in them, and as an additive to foods that are low in protein.

Gluten and Celiac Disease

Some people are very sensitive to glutens in their food. When they eat foods which contain gluten, these people may experience stomach cramps, bloating, gas and diarrhoea and rashes. This sensitivity is called coeliac disease (in North America, it is usually spelled "celiac disease").

Further reading

• Curtis, B.C.; Rajaram, S.; Macpherson, H.G., Bread Wheat, Improvement and production — FAO Plant Production and Protection Series No. #30., retrieved 2007-08-21
• Pfluger, Laura, Marker Assisted Selection in Wheat, Quality traits. Gluten Strength, Coordinated Agricultural Project (funded by USDACREES), archived from the original on 2013-01-21, retrieved 2007-09-29
• Agricultural Databases, Statistics, etc., USDA Cereal Disease Laboratory, archived from the original on 2013-01-21, retrieved 2007-09-27
• Wieser, H. (2007), Cereal Chemistry and Dough Properties, KL1-Gluten Chemistry, German Research Centre of Food Chemistry and Cereal Chemistry and Hans-Dieter-Belitz-Institute for Cereal Grain Research, D-85748 Garching, Germany, archived from the original on 2008-06-16, retrieved 2007-09-27
• Wrigley, C.W; Bekes, F.; Bushuk, W. (2006), The Gluten Composition of Wheat Varieties and Genotypes, AACC International, ISBN 1-891127-51-9, archived from the original on 2012-03-05, retrieved 2007-09-21

Gluten Media

• 

  Examples of sources of gluten (clockwise from top): wheat as flour, spelt, barley, and rye as rolled flakes

• 

  Bread produced from wheat grains contains gluten.

• 

  Wheat, a prime source of gluten

• 

  Cross-section of a baguette showing a strong gluten network

• 

  Gluten is often used in imitation meats (such as this mock duck) to provide supplemental protein in vegetarian diets

• 

  Medical animation still showing flattened intestinal villi.

• A male with gluten ataxia: previous situation and evolution after three months of gluten-free diet

Other websites

• Gluten Free FAQ Archived 2015-12-25 at the Wayback Machine