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Salve list!
  There's not much to summarize about microwaving food in general. I posted
the query because we celiacs are already sensitive to gastro-intestinal
harm from gluten, why should we consciously add assaults by processing
foods in a way that may be more harmful than other ways?
   At any rate, here's the what I received.  Thanks to Margaret Pratt for
taking the time to respond at length. (Her address is below).

>>I won't claim to be an expert, but I have studied biochemistry and have
>>worked for a while and will share a bit from that experience.
>>
>>Microwaving will denature proteins, but how easily, quickly, thoroughly
>>depends on the structure and composition of the protein. I worked in a
>>laboratory where we used proteins in the form of antiserum (antibodies
>>for blood typing). One day one of my newer co-workers decided she didn't
>>want to wait for the frozen antibody to thaw, so she "nuked" it. Then
>>her tests didn't work because the proteins had been denatured. The same
>>thing would have happened if the antiserum had been heated on a stove,
>>though I couldn't tell you what temperature would have caused loss of
>>function. That would take trial and error and time.
>>
>>My guess is that the offending protein in gluten is a pretty hardy
>>protein that doesn't denature easily, hence a loaf of bread that has
>>been baked at 300 or 400 degrees for however long still causes a celiac
>>to get sick. Contrast that to an egg. The reason it gets less liquid and
>>more solid when it cooks is because proteins in the egg are being
>>denatured.
>>
>>Again, ease of denaturation is going to depend on the amino acid
>>composition of the protein. All proteins are made of amino acids (20
>>amino acids exist in nature, and of those 20 several can have certain
>>chemical modifications and still be incorporated into a protein) and the
>>difference between proteins are the actual sequence of these amino
>>acids, the number of amino acids present in the protein, and the
>>physical form (shape) of the resulting protein, which is based, in part,
>>on that amino acid sequence. Research is still being done to determine
>>what actually dictates the physical form because it is apparent that the
>>sequence alone does not determine the final form of the protein. This is
>>a bad analogy, but think of a train (train = protein). There are cargo
>>trains, freight trains, commuter trains, etc.. The type of cars (amino
>>acids) that make up the train determine what kind of train (protein) it
>>is (eg, passenger cars, box cars, sleeper cars, dining cars). Not every
>>passenger train has the same sequence of cars (amino acids), therefore
>>there are differences between even the passenger trains (proteins). I'm
>>afraid that's about as far as I can take that analogy, but it does help
>>illustrate the difference between proteins in a relatively simple way.
>>
>>I'm afraid with the offending proteins in gluten, if you are able to
>>heat or microwave the food to the point that the offending protein is
>>denatured, you've probably charred your food beyond recognition. Too,
>>depending on the sensativity of an individual to gluten, if there's no
>>visible crumbs in a toaster, then it may be OK to toast your gluten free
>>whatever in there, or maybe not. If a baking pan has been washed well
>>with soap and water, I think there's little danger of the offending
>>gluten proteins hanging on to the pan. But again, I haven't performed
>>any scientific tests to prove this; My statements are based on what I
>>know of protein chemistry - and this knowledge has not been applied in
>>the area of food intolerences.

PS:I just read over what I sent and felt the need to clarify the example I
gave of the cooking egg and denatured proteins. As I described, there
are many different types of proteins, and even an item such as an egg
will possess hundreds if not thousands of different proteins. Some of
those proteins will be denatured and rendered 'changed' upon cooking,
other proteins will not. I wanted to add that in consideration of the
people who have difficulties with eggs so that it is not interpreted
that cooking an egg will destroy what makes such people ill.

Margaret Pratt                       E-mail:  [log in to unmask]
Toxicology Program            http://www.orst.edu/~prattm/
Oregon State University
........................................................................

Beth Kubly/Penn State   [log in to unmask]