Detection of Gluten in Gluten-Free Foods of Plant Origin

Abstract

The work deals with the issue of standardization and more accurate methodology for the isolation of gluten DNA in gluten-free products of plant origin, which is more demanding due to the more complex structure of plant cells. Three isolation methods were compared, of which the combination of glass and zirconium beads, Proteinase K and a commercially produced isolation kit was confirmed to be the most effective procedure. The given isolation procedure was more effective in one-component gluten-free foods, where the concentration of the obtained DNA ranged from 80.4 ± 0.7 to 99.0 ± 0.0 ng/µL. The subsequent PCR reaction revealed the presence of gluten not only in guaranteed gluten-free products (40%), but also in naturally gluten-free foods (50%). These were mainly gluten-free sponge cakes, gluten-free biscuits “Cranberries”, cocoa powder, coffee “3in1”, and instant coffee.