Fermentation, supplements may aid gluten-sensitive people
Gluten sensitivity refers to people who have difficulty digesting gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. Innovations in sourdough fermentation and dietary supplements have been designed to alleviate such sensitivity.
Carlo Giuseppe Rizello, Ph.D., a researcher at the University of Bari in Italy, presented his findings on sourdough fermentation on July 14 at the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual meeting and food exposition in Chicago. Baking bread and other products with wheat flour rendered gluten-free by sourdough fermentation may be digested by people with celiac disease and other gluten sensitivity, according to his research.
Sourdough is fermented with lactobacilli and yeasts. When compared with bread made with cultivated yeast, sourdough bread usually has a mildly sour taste because of the lactic acid produced by the lactobacilli. To create hydrolyzed wheat flour suitable for baking that reacts like gluten flour, Dr. Rizello’s process uses water, wheat flour, fungal proteases and sourdough lactic acid.
“The advantage of this bread is the taste,” Dr. Rizello said. “This bread is refined so it is more similar to conventional white flour bread, but is more nutritious.”
On the supplement side, DSM Nutritional Products and the University of Alberta both have reported progress.
DSM Nutritional Products, Parsippany, N.J., has launched Tolerase G, or Aspergillus Niger prolyl endoprotease (AN-PEP). Research has shown the AN-PEP digestive enzyme degrades gluten molecules in the stomach. The supplement is intended for gluten-sensitive consumers but not for people with celiac disease or people who are gluten intolerant.
Researchers at the University of Alberta in Edmonton have developed a supplement from the yolks of chicken eggs that prevents the absorption of gliadin, a component of gluten that people with celiac disease have trouble digesting.
“This supplement binds with gluten in the stomach and helps to neutralize it, therefore providing defense to the small intestine, limiting the damage gliadin causes,” said Hoon Sunwoo, an associate professor in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the university. “It is our hope that this supplement will improve the quality of life for those who have celiac disease and gluten intolerance.”
Dr. Sunwoo and Jeong Sim, a retired professor from the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences at the university, developed the supplement. An efficacy trial will follow. The supplement could be available within three years.
