| Biography | |
|---|---|
 Prof. Sunil Kumar Quality and Basic Sciences, ICAR-IIWBR, Karnal-132001, India |
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| Title: Is gluten the sole culprit for gluten-related disorders? | |
| Abstract: Wheat is sesquipedalian cereal crop imparting food to 30% of the human population; contributing to approximately 20% of energy needs and 25% of dietary protein. Gluten, the main storage protein found in wheat is present in mealy endosperm and constitutes 75-80% of total wheat proteins. It is formed of two different proteins, gliadins and glutenins. Both wheat storage proteins are unique being technologically active having capability of dough formation by virtue of their gas retention property. Gluten contains high content of glutamine and proline-rich polypeptide residues resistant to proteolytic degradation and acts as coeliac disease (CD) eliciting epitopes. When these proteins are consumed by genetically susceptible individuals having human leukocyte antigen DQ2/DQ8 molecules on antigen presenting cells, a cascade of immune reactions is triggered, which results in damage to the intestinal lining resulting in coeliac disease (CD), an autoimmune disorder. Gluten is also responsible for causing other wheat related disorders such as non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), wheat allergy etc. The CD represents T-cell mediated chronic inflammatory condition affecting small intestine and jejunum, resulting in villous atrophy (flattening of villi) in intestine. This results in reduced surface area for nutrient absorption leading to malnutrition, and multifarious pathological symptoms. As on now, roughly 1% of world’s population is afflicted of this physiological disorder. Also, genetic predisposition of susceptible individuals contributes more towards CD development rather than gluten alone. Currently there is need to understand the basic facts regarding incidence of CD and its difference with NCGS and other wheat allergies. Keywords: Glutens, MHC, Coeliac disease, genetic susceptibility, NCGS, Wheat allergy, Immunoglobulins, wheat varietal improvements | |
| Biography: Dr. Sunil Kumar is presently working as Principal Scientist (Plant Biochemistry) at Division of Quality and Basic Sciences at ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, Karnal. He obtained his bachelors from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra; M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar in Biochemistry. He has served at MPUAT, Udaipur and CCSHAU, Hisar and currently working with Indian Council of Agricultural Research since 2011 and has contributed towards teaching as well as research. His areas of research interest are antioxidants, wheat quality and post-harvest biology. Throughout 16 years of service experience, he has worked in the field of plant biochemistry and has 29 research papers (of international and national repute), one edited book and more than 40 other publications including technical bulletins, book chapters, practical manuals and popular articles to his credit. Currently, he is actively engaged in determining quality traits for various wheat quality improvement programs of resource management and breeding programs as well as working on wheat antioxidants and coeliac disease. | |
