Breeding from 1891 to 2010 did not increase the content of amylase/trypsin-inhibitors in wheat (Triticum aestivum)

The prevalence of hypersensitivities towards wheat has increased in the last decades. Apart from celiac disease these include allergic and other inflammatory reactions summarized under the term non-celiac wheat sensitivity. One suspected trigger is the family of amylase/trypsin-inhibitors (ATIs), non-gluten proteins that are prominent wheat allergens and that activate the toll-like receptor 4 on intestinal immune cells to promote intestinal and extra-intestinal inflammation. We therefore quantified 13 ATIs in 60 German hexaploid winter wheat cultivars originating from 1891 to 2010 and harvested in three years by targeted liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry combined with stable isotope dilution assay using specific marker peptides as internal standards. The total ATI content and that of the two major ATIs 0.19 and CM3 did not change from old cultivars (first registered from 1891 to 1950) to modern cultivars (1951–2010). There were also no significant changes in ATI distribution.