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. 2021 Feb 5;10(2):340.
doi: 10.3390/foods10020340.

Degradation of Wheat Germ Agglutinin during Sourdough Fermentation

Luis E Rojas Tovar  1 , Michael G Gänzle  1
Affiliations

Degradation of Wheat Germ Agglutinin during Sourdough Fermentation

Luis E Rojas Tovar et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Non Celiac Wheat Sensitivity (NCWS) is an intolerance to wheat products and individuals with NCWS often adhere to a gluten free diet. However, gluten free diets are often associated with a reduced sensory and nutritional quality. Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) is one of the wheat components linked to NCWS. This study explored the fate of WGA during sourdough fermentation. To assess the role of thiol-exchange reactions and proteolysis, sourdoughs were fermented with Fructilactobacillus sanfranciscensis DSM20451, F. sanfranciscensis DSM20451ΔgshR, which lacks glutathione reductase activity, or Latilactobacillus sakei TMW1.22, with or without addition of fungal protease. The conversion of WGA was determined by size exclusion chromatography of fluorescence-labeled WGA, and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Commercial whole wheat flour contained 6.6 ± 0.7 μg WGA/g. After fermentation with L. sakei TMW1.22 and F. sanfranciscensis DSM20451, the WGA content was reduced (p < 0.05) to 2.7 ± 0.4 and 4.3 ± 0.3 μg WGA/g, respectively, while the WGA content remained unchanged in chemically acidified controls or in doughs fermented with F. sanfranciscensis DSM20451ΔgshR. Protease addition did not affect the WGA content. In conclusion, the fate of WGA during sourdough fermentation relates to thiol-exchange reactions but not to proteolytic degradation.

Keywords: fermentation; lactic acid bacteria; proteolysis; sourdough; wheat germ agglutinin; wheat sensitivity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) under four different conditions: Native WGA, WGA with N-acetyl neuraminic acid, WGA with N-acetyl glucosamine and WGA after heating with SDS buffer at 95 °C for 7 min. Arrows indicate the molecular weight of standards eluting at that volume. The standards used to determine molecular size were: bovine serum albumin (BSA) 66 kDa, β-lactoglobulin 35 kDa, lysozyme 14 kDa, vitamin B12 1.3 kDa and glutathione 0.3 kDa.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chromatogram of fluorescence labeled WGA. WGA was extracted from chemically acidified doughs after 24 h of incubation and compared to Latilactobacillus sakei sourdough after 24 h of fermentation (left panel) and extracted from doughs fermented with F. sanfranciscensis DSM20451 ΔgshR and compared to F. sanfranciscensis DSM20451 after 24 h of fermentation (right panel).
Figure 3
Figure 3
WGA content (μg WGA/g dry matter) of different sourdough samples (n = 3 biological replicates) taken after 0.5 h (black bars) or 24 h (white bars) of fermentation, or after 24 h of fermentation with addition of protease from Aspergillus oryzae at 30 °C (gray bars). Unfermented flour was used as control. Samples fermented with different strains or different conditions differ significantly (p < 0.001) unless they share a common capital letter. Samples fermented with the same strain for 0.5 h or for 24 h with or without addition of protease were not significantly different (p > 0.05).
Figure 4
Figure 4
WGA content (μg WGA/g flour) of sourdough prepared with Red Fife pure cultivar flour (n = 3) after 24 h of fermentation with F. sanfranciscensis DSM20451. Chemically acidified doughs and Red Fife flours were used as controls. Samples fermented with different strains or different conditions differ significantly (p < 0.001) unless they share a common capital letter. Samples fermented with the same strain for 0.5 h or for 24 h were not significantly different (p > 0.05).
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