Coeliac disease disease genotypes. It is suspected that some of them may have been beneficial by providing protection against bacterial infections. The majority of the proteins in food responsible for the immune reaction in coeliac disease are the prolamins. These are storage proteins rich in proline ("prol-") and glutamine ("-amin") that dissolve in alcohols and are resistant to proteases and peptidases of the gut. Prolamins are found in cereal grains with different grains having different but related prolamins: wheat (gliadin), barley (hordein), rye (secalin) and oats (avenin). One region of α-gliadin stimulates membrane cells, enterocytes, of the intestine to allow larger molecules
Rye a serious medical condition known as ergotism. Ergotism can cause both physical and mental harm, including convulsions, miscarriage, necrosis of digits, hallucinations and death. Historically, damp northern countries that have depended on rye as a staple crop were subject to periodic epidemics of this condition. Such epidemics have been found to correlate with periods of frequent witch trials, such as the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts in 1692. Rye grain is refined into a flour. Rye flour is high in gliadin but low in glutenin. It therefore has a lower gluten content than wheat flour. It also contains a higher