Measuring gluten in wheat starch for celiac patients
What it found
In lab tests, a new method found more gluten in most wheat starch samples than the standard ELISA test did.
The extra gluten came from glutenins, which ELISA kits often miss.
What they found
Glutenins in wheat starch
The new method found considerable amounts of glutenins in most of the wheat starch samples tested.
New method vs ELISA
The new method measured higher gluten levels than R5 ELISA in 19 out of 26 wheat starch samples. This is because ELISA mainly detects the alcohol-soluble gliadin part of gluten and misses the alcohol-insoluble glutenin part.
Why ELISA may miss gluten
Most ELISA kits mainly recognize the gliadin fraction of gluten and do not target the glutenin fraction well enough.
Possible use of new method
Despite its limited selectivity, the new method may be used alongside ELISA to confirm gluten levels in wheat starch.
What the authors conclude
“Despite its limited selectivity, GP-HPLC-FLD may be applied as confirmatory method to ELISA to quantitate gluten in WSt.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say the new method revealed that considerable amounts of glutenins were present in most wheat starch.
- They note that gluten contents measured by their method were higher than those by R5 ELISA in 19 out of 26 wheat starch samples.
- They suggest that despite its limited selectivity, GP-HPLC-FLD may be applied as a confirmatory method to ELISA to quantitate gluten in wheat starch.
How it was done
Purified wheat starch is often used in gluten-free products for people with celiac disease. It is mostly well-tolerated, but doubts about its safety for these patients persist.
The authors developed a new method that extracts gliadins, glutenins, and gluten from wheat starch step by step, then measures them using gel-permeation high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. They compared this method with the R5 ELISA test on 26 wheat starch samples.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This is a lab study on wheat starch samples, not a study in people. It cannot show how much gluten people with celiac disease can tolerate.
- The method measures gluten levels in samples. It does not show whether eating these wheat starch products causes symptoms or harm in celiac patients.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Leibniz Institut, Germany
The paper
- Title
- Improved Quantitation of Gluten in Wheat Starch for Celiac Disease Patients by Gel-Permeation High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Fluorescence Detection (GP-HPLC-FLD)
- Type
- Study
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Scherf KA, Wieser H, Koehler P (2016). Improved Quantitation of Gluten in Wheat Starch for Celiac Disease Patients by Gel-Permeation High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Fluorescence Detection (GP-HPLC-FLD). Journal of agricultural and food chemistry. doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.6b02512PubMed 27633005DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error