Spelt wheat
Route Of Exposure
Other topics
Spelt has recently been marketed as safe for Wheat-allergic or Wheat-intolerant individuals. This claim is anecdotal and not scientifically supported. Wheat-allergic patients can react as readily to Spelt as they do to Common wheat. Furthermore, Spelt is not suitable for people with coeliac disease.
Clinical Relevance
IgE-mediated reactions
Unexpectedly, allergic reactions to Spelt have not been commonly reported. This may be a result of Spelt products not being commonly available. Reported adverse reactions are expected to increase as Spelt and Spelt products become increasingly more accessible. Adverse reactions may be similar to those reported to Wheat. See Wheat. A case report describes an individual with a demonstrated allergy to Common Wheat who had several similar anaphylactic reactions after consuming Spelt.
Cross-Reactivity
The National Center for Biotechnology Information Entrez data base contains 97 sequences for Spelt proteins, and these sequences are > 95% identical to "Common wheat" protein sequences. In addition, the single sequence for a Spelt protein that is known to be a Wheat allergen, alpha-gliadin (accession ABB17533), is 99% identical to a homologous Wheat protein (accession CAB76957). Therefore, cross-reactivity may be similar to that reported for Wheat. See Wheat. As Spelt contains a lipid transfer protein, cross-reactivity with other plants containing lipid transfer proteins is possible. This is demonstrated by a report of occupational sensitization to Spelt that was associated with symptoms on ingestion of several lipid transfer protein-containing foods.
References
- Blatter RH, Jacomet S, Schlumbaum A. About the origin of European spelt ( Triticum spelta L.): allelic differentiation of the HMW Glutenin B1-1 and A1-2 subunit genes. TAG Theoretical and applied genetics Theoretische und angewandte Genetik. 2004;108(2):360-7.
- Yunginger JW. Food ingredient labeling: how many ways can wheat be spelt? Allergy proceedings : the official journal of regional and state allergy societies. 1994;15(4):219-20.
- Dostálek P, Hochel I, Méndez E, Hernando A, Gabrovská D. Immunochemical determination of gluten in malts and beers. Food additives and contaminants. 2006;23(11):1074-8.
- Friedman HM, Tortolani RE, Glick J, Burtis RT. Spelt is wheat. Allergy proceedings : the official journal of regional and state allergy societies. 1994;15(4):217-8.