Gluten (from Latin , "glue") is a mixture of proteins found in wheat and related grains, including barley, rye, oat (depending on cultivar and processing), and all their species and hybrids (such as spelt,kamut, and triticale). Gluten is appreciated for its viscoelastic properties. It gives elasticity to dough, helping it rise and keep its shape and often gives the final product a chewy texture.
Gluten is a composite of storage proteins termed prolamins. It is conjoined with starch in the endosperm of various grass-related grains. Wheat prolamins are called gliadins and glutenins, barley prolamins are hordeins, rye prolamins are secalins and oats prolamins are avenins.Oat avenin toxicity in people with gluten-related disorders depends on the oat cultivar consumed because the immunoreactivities of toxic prolamins are different among oat varieties. Also, many oat products are cross-contaminated with gluten-containing cereals.
The fruit of most flowering plants have endosperms with stored protein to nourish embryonic plants during germination. True gluten is limited to certain members of the grass family. The stored proteins of maize and rice are sometimes called glutens, but their proteins differ from true gluten.
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