The survey of prolamin and gluten content in beers produced in Central Europe – The biochemical characterization of immunoreactive protein fractions

Abstract

Prolamins (gliadin-related proteins) are cereal proteins which are a source of polypeptides that are toxic to people showing intolerance or allergy to gluten. Therefore, serious safety concerns regarding occasional and routine beer consumption emerge due to the presence of immunoreactive amino acid sequences of cereal origin that remain in the final product. The aim of the study was to investigate the presence of prolamins and gluten in samples of beers (72 commercially available beverages) produced in Central Europe. A competitive ELISA and immunoblotting methods were applied to analyze the presence and concentration of immunoreactive proteins/peptides. Gluten level in the studied beers ranged from 10 to over 6000 mg/kg. Approximately 30% beers could be regarded as gluten-free, around 40% were very low gluten and only 25% beers contained considerable amounts of gluten. The highest level of prolamin content was detected in wheat beers. We demonstrated that these high concentrations of prolamins are probably derived from residues of non-degraded wheat gliadins.