Gluten
Group of cereal grain proteins / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Gluten is a structural protein naturally found in certain cereal grains.[1] The term gluten usually refers to the elastic network of a wheat grain's proteins, gliadin and glutenin primarily, that forms readily with the addition of water and often kneading in the case of bread dough.[2] The types of grains that contain gluten include all species of wheat (common wheat, durum, spelt, khorasan, emmer and einkorn), and barley, rye, and some cultivars of oat; moreover, cross hybrids of any of these cereal grains also contain gluten, e.g. triticale.[3][4] Gluten makes up 75–85% of the total protein in bread wheat.[5]
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Gluten_Sources.png/320px-Gluten_Sources.png)
Glutens, especially Triticeae glutens, have unique viscoelastic and adhesive properties, which give dough its elasticity, helping it rise and keep its shape and often leaving the final product with a chewy texture.[5][6][7] These properties, and its relatively low cost, make gluten valuable to both food and non-food industries.[7]
Wheat gluten is composed of mainly two types of proteins: the glutenins[8] and the gliadins,[9] which in turn can be divided into high molecular and low molecular glutenins and α/β, γ and Ω gliadins. Its homologous seed storage proteins, in barley, are referred to as hordeins, in rye, secalins, and in oats, avenins.[10] These protein classes are collectively referred to as "gluten".[4] The storage proteins in other grains, such as maize (zeins) and rice (rice protein), are sometimes called gluten, but they do not cause harmful effects in people with celiac disease.[3]
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Pain_sans_gluten_%C3%A0_la_farine_de_ch%C3%A2taigne_et_charcuterie_corse.jpg/640px-Pain_sans_gluten_%C3%A0_la_farine_de_ch%C3%A2taigne_et_charcuterie_corse.jpg)
Gluten can trigger adverse, inflammatory, immunological, and autoimmune reactions in some people. The spectrum of gluten related disorders includes celiac disease in 1–2% of the general population, non-celiac gluten sensitivity in 0.5–13% of the general population, as well as dermatitis herpetiformis, gluten ataxia and other neurological disorders.[11][12][13][14] These disorders are treated by a gluten-free diet.[14]