Gluten and wheat intolerance today: are modern wheat strains involved?

Abstract

Celiac disease is a food-induced enteropathy resulting from exposure to gluten in genetically predisposed individuals. The non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) is a less known syndrome whose prevalence is under-estimated. The last decades have seen changes in the clinical presentation of both diseases. One possible explanation is that changes in the gluten-rich cereals themselves were the principal causes. Celiac-triggering gluten proteins are indeed expressed to higher levels in modern cereals while non-triggering proteins are expressed less. Sophisticated hybridization techniques have been used to produce new strains of modern wheat, the most high-yielding of which have since made their way into human foods in the absence of animal or human safety testing. The dramatic changes in the clinical presentation of celiac disease and NCGS have taken place when new cereal hybrids were introduced into human foods. This is a critical medical and environmental issue which needs to be investigated by appropriate studies.

Keywords: Auto-immunity; celiac; gliadin; gut microbiota; safety testing; triticum aestivum; triticum durum.