Chapter 21 Immunotoxic Gluten Fracton Detecton: Applicatons in Food Safety

The only currently available therapy for celiac patents is a life-long strict gluten-free diet, however, it generates numerous social and economic repercussions. Various studies have suggested that failure to comply with the diet is frequent in celiac patents. For this reason, and because of the currently recognized importance of nutriton in the management of CD, the development of new strategies for monitoring the gluten-free diet is essental. The toxicity of cereals such as oats is questoned. Studies have shown that oat’s immunogenicity depends on interindividual sensitvity and the cultvar used. The incorporaton of harmless oat varietes in food products may improve the nutritonal quality of the gluten-free diet. Additonally in the search for a less-toxic barley, it has been demonstrated that cultvated varietes contain lower levels of immunogenic gluten than the wild ones. This fact is important in breeding programs of cultvated species and in the preparaton of certain foods and beverages derived from toxic cereals.