Abstract
The water-insoluble storage proteins of cereals (prolamins) are called “gluten” in wheat, barley, and rye, and “avenins” in oat. Gluten can provoke celiac disease (CD) in genetically susceptible individuals (those with human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 serotypes). Avenins are present at a lower concentration (10%–15% of total protein content) in oat as compared to gluten in wheat (80%–85%). The avenins in the genus Avena (cultivated oat as well as various wild species of which gene bank accessions were analyzed) are free of the known CD immunogenic epitopes from wheat, barley, and rye. T cells that recognize avenin-specific epitopes have been found very rarely in CD patients. CD patients that consume oats daily do not show significantly increased levels of intraepithelial lymphocyte (EIL) cells. The safety and the positive health effects of the long-term inclusion of oats in the gluten-free diet have been confirmed in long-term studies. Since 2009 (EC 41/2009) and 2013 (FDA) oat products may be sold as gluten-free in several countries provided a gluten contamination level below 20 ppm. Introduction of oats in the gluten-free diet of celiac patients is advised after the recovery of the intestine. Health effects of oat consumption are reflected in European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)- and Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved health claims. Oats can form a healthy, nutritious, fiber-rich, and safe complement to the gluten-free diet.
Highlights
Oats have a long history of use as a nutritious substance in food and feed
Long-term cohort studies as well as short-term intervention studies have revealed the safe consumption of oats by celiac disease patients, provided that the products are uncontaminated with wheat, barley, or rye, or are specially produced to avoid gluten contamination above 20 ppm
Two avenin-specific epitopes, which can be present in all oat varieties and species, have been found to be reactive in only a very few patients
Summary
Oats have a long history of use as a nutritious substance in food and feed. Excavations from. Oat presented itself as a perfect feed for working horses in agriculture and became became often on‐farm cultivated, year after year. Oat breeding lags behind that of wheat and wheat and barley, and attention to the pureness of the sowing seed is still limited. The U.S specification for No 1 oats allows the presence of presence of up to 2% foreign material, which could be all wheat and barley [5]. Oat fits into a healthy gluten‐free diet. These issues will be issues will be elaborated here
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