New research has debunked the myth that all early varieties of wheat were less allergenic than the varieties grown on Australian farms today.

Charles Sturt University PhD candidate, Chris Florides has investigated 170 wheat varieties as part of his research through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Centre for Functional Grains.

“Wheat allergies or gluten intolerance has become a key talking point, not only for people who have diagnosed allergies or consumers who eat gluten-free, but also for wheat breeders and food processors,” Mr Florides said.

“If you search the internet or social media there’s a lot of speculation that early wheat varieties were not immunogenic and that modern genetic techniques have created wheat varieties that are more allergenic.

“My research examined the allergenicity of wheat varieties grown in Australia from 1860 to 2015, including some original varieties brought from England that were bred to suit Australian conditions.

“The study found that one of the most allergenic varieties was one grown in the 1800’s.”

Mr Florides has also developed a diagnostic method and created data bases with information on the allergenicity of these wheat varieties.

“I found there is variation in the levels of allergenicity and it’s hoped varieties with low content of Immunoriactive proteins can now be used in wheat breeding programs and the ones with high content avoided,” Mr Florides said.

“The research also found that the climate plays a significant role on the expression of Immunoriactive gluten proteins in wheat.

“Some varieties for example can synthesise more immunogenic proteins in hot weather and vice versa.

“It is not possible to develop completely non allergenic wheat because the gluten proteins, which are responsible for the immunogenic effects of bread and other wheat products, are necessary for the functionality of the flour used to make these products.

“But I hope that my research will contribute to the development of low-allergenic wheat varieties that could be made into products suitable for people who have mild gluten intolerance.”

FGC Director Professor Chris Blanchard said, “This is an example of the research at the Functional Grains Centre that’s responding to the interest that consumers have in the impact of food on their health. Ultimately developing products to meet consumer demands will benefit the entire grains value chain.”

The research has been supervised by Professor Chris Blanchard, Dr Thiru Vanniasinkam, and Dr Frank Bekes from Charles Sturt University, Dr Angela Juhasz from Edith Cowan University and Dr Russell Eastwood from Australian Grain Technologies (AGT).

Mr Florides has now submitted his thesis and his results will soon be published.

“I have enjoyed tremendously the work and the people I worked with. I love research and it is now my intention to continue pure research on the same or similar topic,” he said.