A study on development of Gluten free pasta and its biochemical and immunological validation

The present study is aimed at the development of Gluten free pasta with enriched protein content, and evaluation of product quality and its allergenicity. The pasta was developed using high protein flours such as Soya flour, Channa flour, Sorghum flour and Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC) along with gums. Prepared pasta was analysed for its quality characteristics and was subjected to immunological tests such as ELISA and Dot-Blot. Cooking quality of the pasta revealed that Gluten free pasta had a little higher cooking loss than that of Triticum durum pasta (control) and with addition of gums the starch loss was decreased. Gluten free Pasta was comparable to control in all other quality parameters. The amylose content of all pasta ranged from 2.14 to 3.1 g/100 g which was lower than the control (3.9 g/100 g). It also showed less starch digestibility and high protein digestibility. SDS-PAGE pattern showed distinct protein profile of Gluten free blends where bands corresponding to wheat allergen profile were not observed. Dot-Blot and ELISA confirmed that antibodies developed against gliadin did not recognize these proteins. Hence it can be concluded that the developed Gluten free pasta with high protein can be consumed by individuals who exhibit allergic symptoms to wheat gluten. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.