Sorghum, a Healthy and Gluten-free Food for Celiac Patients As Demonstrated by Genome, Biochemical, and Immunochemical Analyses

Abstract

Wheat (Triticum spp. L.), rye (Secale cereal L.), and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) seeds contain peptides toxic to celiac patients. Maize (Zea mays L.) and rice (Oryza sativa L.) are distant relatives of wheat as well as sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) and are known to be safe for celiacs. Both immunochemical studies and in vitro and in vivo challenge of wheat-free sorghum food products support this conclusion, although molecular evidence is missing. The goal of the present study was to provide biochemical and genetic evidence that sorghum is safe for celiac patients. In silico analysis of the recently published sorghum genome predicts that sorghum does not contain peptides that are toxic for celiac patients. Aqueous/alcohol-soluble prolamins (kafirins) from different sorghum varieties, including pure lines and hybrids, were evaluated by SDS-PAGE and HPLC analyses as well as an established enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on the R5 antibody. These analyses provide molecular evidence for the absence of toxic gliadin-like peptides in sorghum, confirming that sorghum can be definitively considered safe for consumption by people with celiac disease.

Genetic Basis of Protein Digestibility in Grain Sorghum

“…In sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, sorghum is grown primarily as a food crop by small-scale subsistence farmers in some of the world's most fragile agroecosystems. In other parts of the world, sorghum is principally grown as an animal feed, although there is a growing interest in recent years to use it in food products driven by its potential human health benefits (Awika and Rooney, 2004;Lemlioglu-Austin, 2014;Dahlberg et al, 2011;Stefoska-Needham et al, 2015) and as a celiac-safe grain (Ciacci et al, 2007;Pontieri et al, 2013). Over the last decade, sorghum has found new use as feedstock for biofuel production (Dahlberg et al, 2011;Ratnavathi et al, 2011), with nearly one-third of grain sorghum going to the ethanol industry.…”

Moisture effects on robustness of sorghum grain protein near‐infrared spectroscopy calibration

“…In the United States, sorghum is mostly grown for animal feed and as a biofuel feedstock. However, since sorghum has important potential human health benefits in the prevention of chronic diseases (Stefoska-Needham, Beck, Johnson, & Tapsell, 2015) and with its use as a gluten-free food (Ciacci et al, 2007;Pontieri et al, 2013), sorghum use in the food industry is also increasing in America.…”

Cereals for developing gluten-free products and analytical tools for gluten detection

“…The analysis of aqueous/alcohol-soluble prolamins (kafirins) from different sorghum varieties provides molecular evidence for the absence of toxic gliadin-like peptides in sorghum (Pontieri et al, 2013). A similar study carried out with amaranth revealed that all of the amaranth samples studied showed similar binding affinities for both specific anti-gliadin antibodies and human IgAs, and the molecular characterisation of amaranth proteins suggests that it is safe for coeliacs to consume (Ballabio et al, 2011).…”