Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Help Celiac.com:
    eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Scott Adams
    Scott Adams

    Are Gluten-Busting Enzymes the Best Hope for Future Celiac Treatment and Maintenance?

    Reviewed and edited by a celiac disease expert.

    Do gluten-busting enzymes offer people with celiac disease the best hope at counteracting accidental gluten ingestion, and promoting better health?

    Are Gluten-Busting Enzymes the Best Hope for Future Celiac Treatment and Maintenance? - Enzymes from papaya skin are being studied as they may break down gluten. Image: CC BY-SA 2.0--wlcutler
    Caption: Enzymes from papaya skin are being studied as they may break down gluten. Image: CC BY-SA 2.0--wlcutler

    Celiac.com 05/13/2020 - With the collapse of the Nexvax 2 'vaccine" for celiac disease, which was really more like allergy therapy, but which has been abandoned after poor results in clinical trials, the hope for an outright cure, or "silver bullet" treatment for celiac disease seems a far-off possibility. That means that people with celiac disease are unlikely to gain immunity to gluten, and start freely eating gluten any time soon.

    Unlike a vaccine, which would theoretically make it possible for people with celiac disease to eat gluten, enzymes do not change the underlying celiac disease at all. People with celiac disease still have celiac disease, and need to follow a gluten-free diet to maintain optimal health. However, gluten-busting enzymes seem to hold the most promise for helping people with celiac disease to avoid accidental gluten ingestion, and to promote better overall health.

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
    New revelations from real world studies that show that even the most diligent celiacs are often exposed to gluten offer strong arguments in favor of using gluten targeting enzymes.

    Arguments Against Enzymes

    Arguments against enzymes include the idea that such enzymes might lead celiacs to deliberately consume gluten. There are good reasons why this viewpoint doesn't stand up too well to scrutiny. Anyone who would risk their health to deliberately consume gluten likely doesn't need an enzyme as an excuse to do so. Any extra protection against gluten contamination would seem to be a good idea for most celiacs, even those who willingly cheat on their diets, which some surveys put at over 20% of celiacs, especially in light of data that shows that many gluten-free people with celiac disease are accidentally, and unknowingly exposed to low levels of gluten that can trigger symptoms and cause gut damage.

    Other studies show that adverse gluten reactions are common in people with celiac disease on a gluten-free diet. Eating away from home, especially at restaurants and other homes, carries the greatest risk for gluten exposure.

    Arguments in Favor of Enzymes

    Arguments in favor of enzymes often include the idea that enzymes are unlikely to harm patients, and could provide an extra measure of protection against minor accidental gluten ingestion by people with celiac disease. Especially in sensitive people, the argument goes, enzymes could offer some protection. That argument has been borne out by the studies showing that most gluten-free celiacs are regularly exposed to gluten in their diets.

    There are currently numerous enzymes on the market that claim to break down gluten to one degree or another. Most of these enzymes target gluten in general, but one, AN-PEP, has been shown in several studies to break down gluten in the stomach before it gets to the intestine. This could be a crucial development in celiac disease treatment and management. 

    Enzymes that Claim to Break Down Gluten

    AN-PEP

    AN-PEP, derived from the from aspergillus niger fungus, AN-PEP is one of the most promising enzymes. It has been clinically proven to break down gluten in the gut. There are several brands of aspergillum niger, including Gliadin-X.

    Kiwifruit

    Recent research shows that the kiwifruit produces enzymes that are great at breaking down gluten proteins, and could be effective supplements.

    Papaya

    The product, called GluteGuard, is based on a papaya fruit enzyme called caricain. This papaya enzyme is shown to be helpful for celiac patients. A 2015 study showed adding caricain to bread dough reduced gluten toxicity to gluten by 90% for celiac patients.

    Carnivorous Plant Enzymes

    Remember all those cool plants, like Venus Flytraps and Pitcher Plants, that eat bugs? Enzymes from carnivorous plants are excellent at breaking down the proteins that make up the plant's diet. Studies show that these enzymes are also great at breaking down gluten proteins.

    Latiglutinase

    Celiac patients appear to show symptomatic and QOL benefit from using latiglutenase with meals.

    Enzymes from Oral Bacteria

    A recent study of oral bacteria concludes that gluten-degrading Rothia and food-grade Bacillus subtilisins are the "preferred therapy of choice for celiac disease," and that their exceptional enzymatic activity, along with their connection to natural human microbial colonizers, make them "worthy of further exploration for clinical applications in celiac disease and potentially other gluten-intolerance disorders."

    Few Oral Enzymes Break Down Gluten in the Stomach

    Oral enzymes that break down gluten in the gut offer the best hope for most celiac patients in the near term. One enzyme in particular, AN-PEP, which is derived from aspergillum niger, has been clinically shown to break down gluten in the stomach, before it reaches the intestine. Breaking down gluten proteins before they reach the intestine, and provoke an immune reaction in celiacs, is key to any oral enzyme. As such, AN-PEP seems to hold tremendous promise.  

    Gluten-Busting Enzymes Could Change Food Manufacturing

    Researchers at Clemson University are working to produce active enzymes that can be added to products to make them gluten-free, in much the same way that lactase enzymes are used to make lactose-free milk. Obviously many hurdles need to be cleared, and much testing and refinement must happen, but, in theory, such products would be safe for people with celiac disease. 

    A growing body of evidence shows that enzymes may have a beneficial role to play in helping people with celiac disease to minimize potential damage from accidental gluten ingestion, which happens more frequently than previously thought. The key will be finding ways to deploy these enzymes that are proven to provide protection for people with celiac disease looking to follow a gluten-free diet, including oral enzymes that break down gluten in the gut, and possibly even in products that contain wheat, rye, or barley.

    Stay tuned for more developments on the role of enzymes in celiac disease treatment and management.



    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    There are no comments to display.



    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Help Celiac.com:
    Donate
  • About Me

    Scott Adams

    Scott Adams was diagnosed with celiac disease in 1994, and, due to the nearly total lack of information available at that time, was forced to become an expert on the disease in order to recover. In 1995 he launched the site that later became Celiac.com to help as many people as possible with celiac disease get diagnosed so they can begin to live happy, healthy gluten-free lives.  He is co-author of the book Cereal Killers, and founder and publisher of the (formerly paper) newsletter Journal of Gluten Sensitivity. In 1998 he founded The Gluten-Free Mall which he sold in 2014. Celiac.com does not sell any products, and is 100% advertiser supported.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Related Articles

    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 10/05/2016 - So, you're one of the millions of people with celiac disease, one of those folks who has to avoid gluten and eat a gluten-free diet. Maybe you'd like to be able to safely eat out. Maybe you'd like to safely eat some bread.
    Imagine a day a few years from now when you take a pill containing enzymes from a carnivorous plant, which allows your gut to fully break down gluten. You take the pill and sit down to that pizza and beer you've been missing for so long. Is such a day really somewhere in the near future? U of C researcher David Schriemer thinks so.
    "The idea here is that you would take it like Beano," Schreimer said. The enzymes are the product of diligent and meticulous collection by a team of dedicated scientists. They are responsible for carefully...


    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 10/21/2016 - Researchers at Boston University's Henry M. Golden School of Dental Medicine have identified a metabolic enzyme that alerts the body to invading bacteria, which may lead to new treatments for celiac disease.
    A research team that set out to isolate and identify the enzymes and evaluate their potential as novel enzyme therapeutics for celiac disease, reports that the enzymes exhibit exceptionally high gluten-degrading enzyme activities, and are "naturally associated with bacteria that colonize the oral cavity."
    Rothia bacteria, found in human saliva, can break down gluten compounds that cause an exaggerated immune response and that are typically resistant to the digestive enzymes that mammals produce. The team was able to isolate a new class of gluten-degrading...


    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 06/26/2017 - Designed to reduce or eliminate symptoms of gluten contamination in gluten-sensitive individuals, the product known as AN-PEP, marketed in the U.S. as Tolerase G, is a prolyl endoprotease enzyme, derived from Aspergillus niger, that has shown promise in breaking down gluten proteins.
    The latest news comes in the form of a small study that shows the enzyme to be effective in the stomach itself, where harshly acidic conditions render many enzymes ineffective.
    Speaking to an audience at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2017, lead investigator Julia König, PhD, of Sweden's Örebro University, said that the enzyme was special, because…[t]here are a lot of enzymes on the market, but this functions in the stomach where the pH is acidic. Often enzymes don't work in thi...


    Scott Adams
    Celiac.com 05/06/2020 - Naturally occurring enzymes, such as papain enzymes from papaya, or aspergillus niger, have shown promise in breaking down dietary gluten in the stomach before it gets to the gut. The latest addition to that list of potentially helpful enzymes is the kiwifruit, that brown, hairy egg-shaped fruit with a sweet, tart, green flesh and edible black seeds. Long known for being rich in vitamins, and generally good for digestion, the kiwifruit is getting a second look for its potential to break down gluten.
    Scientists at New Zealand's Riddet Institute scientists are testing the ability of natural fruit enzymes to break down gluten proteins into smaller pieces that will not trigger the classic inflammatory response seen in people with celiac disease.
    Kiwifruit...


  • Recent Activity

    1. - CatherineWang replied to B1rdL0ver's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      40

      Dealing with constant nausea and just feeling awful.

    2. - cristiana replied to BunnyBrown's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      3

      Recently had my esophagus dilated

    3. - cristiana replied to twe0708's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      54

      How Long Do Celiac Patients Live?

    4. - Exchange Students replied to Exchange Students's topic in Parents, Friends and Loved Ones of Celiacs
      2

      Exchange Students who are celiac in need of host

    5. - Scott Adams replied to Exchange Students's topic in Parents, Friends and Loved Ones of Celiacs
      2

      Exchange Students who are celiac in need of host


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      120,161
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Nehad
    Newest Member
    Nehad
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      120.2k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):




  • Who's Online (See full list)


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Popular Now

    • Sunflowers06
      6
    • Momkaren
      10
    • Elizabeth M Blair
      5
    • B1rdL0ver
    • twe0708
      54
  • Popular Articles

    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
  • Upcoming Events

×
×
  • Create New...