<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Eleanor Symonds [log in to unmask] wrote: > Scientists have discovered that a naturally occurring chemical, > thioredoxin, can neutralize allergenic proteins in foods such as > milk and wheat. The article mentions that this may help celiacs. > > Possible applications are 1) treating the > food before eating it (sort of like Lactaid or Beano, I guess), > or 2) inserting thioredoxin-producing genes into the grains. Donald D. Kasarda, the wheat expert at the USDA wrote the following in response on the CEL-PRO list. It is being quoted here with his permission: > Insofar as I understand the thesis being put forward, thioredoxin would be > irrelevant to celiac disease, although it might have some effect on the > allergenicity of some proteins. The proposed action of thioredoxin in > reducing allergenicity presumably has to do with its ability to reduce > disulfide bonds. Because the known toxic peptides in celiac disease have > no cysteine (the amino acid involved in disulfide bond formation) or any > other sulfur-containing amino acids, I don't see how thioredoxin would be > able to neutralize the activity of the toxic peptides in celiac disease. > > Furthermore, there is some early work from Holland (van Roon, Haex, and de > Jong, Gastroenterologia 94:227-235, 1960), in which they concluded that > disulfide bonds were not involved in the toxicity of gluten peptides in > celiac disease. Although this early work could be criticized on a number of > counts in terms of current knowledge and experience, the conclusion of van > Roon et al. is apparently correct. > > Don Kasarda, Albany, California