Researchers from the University of León, the University of Seville, the Institute of Sustainable Agriculture (IAS-CSIC) and Novopan, SL have written an article about this new cereal that is becoming more known, in order to check its acceptability and tolerance.
Tritordeum is a new kind of cereal, it is a hybrid between durum wheat (Triticum durum) and barley from Chile (Hordeum chilense) which has recently been introduced in the European market as an alternative to traditional cereals as Tritordeum has qualities that are not found in the rest of cereals and is more functional. This is because it has a greater number of proteins, unsaturated fatty acids (oleic acid) and lutein (antioxidant related to vision).
Its composition differs from wheat’s in terms of gluten, since it contains less ω-gliadins. In the study gluten levels were determined by the ELISA method R5 decreasing by 49% compared to wheat and a smaller number also of immunotoxigenic epitopes (pieces of protein that can cause the immune system to trigger a response) characteristic of the coeliac disease.
The results obtained suggest that this cereal, being a hybrid of wheat and barley, IS NOT SUITABLE for people suffering from coeliac disease despite the fact that its gluten content is lower than the gluten content of the cereals from which it comes. However, it could be an alternative to reduce the amount of gluten in the diet of people with non-celiac gluten sensitivity (SGNC).