Consumption of Tritordeum Bread Reduces Immunogenic Gluten Intake without Altering the Gut Microbiota

Gluten proteins are responsible for the wheat breadmaking quality. However, gluten is also related to human pathologies for which the only treatment is a gluten-free diet (GFD). GFD has gained popularity among individuals who want to reduce their gluten intake. Tritordeum is a cereal species that originated after crossing durum wheat with wild barley and differs from bread wheat in its gluten composition. In this work, we have characterized the immunogenic epitopes of tritordeum bread and results from a four-phase study with healthy adults for preferences of bread and alterations in the gut microbiota after consuming wheat bread, gluten-free bread, and tritordeum bread are reported. Tritordeum presented fewer peptides related to gluten proteins, CD-epitopes, and IgE binding sites than bread wheat. Participants rated tritordeum bread higher than gluten-free bread. Gut microbiota analysis revealed that the adherence to a strict GFD involves some minor changes, especially altering the species producing short-chain fatty acids. However, the short-term consumption of tritordeum bread does not induce significant changes in the diversity or community composition of the intestinal microbiota in healthy individuals. Therefore, tritordeum bread could be an alternative for healthy individuals without wheat-related pathologies who want to reduce their gluten consumption without harming their gut health.This research was supported by grant PID2019-110847RB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, and grants AT-5985 and P20_01005 funded by Consejería de Transformación Económica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades (Junta de Andalucía), and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). C.H. is a recipient of a Juan de la Cierva fellowship “Grant IJC2019-040423-I” from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033.Peer reviewe