An enzyme tablet taken while consuming foods containing gluten can prevents a significant amount of it from entering the small intestine, research presented at Digestive Diseases Week shows.

Presenting the findings at the conference held in Chicago this week Julia König, PhD, the study’s lead author and post-doctoral research fellow at the School of Medical Sciences at University of Örebro, Sweden, said the enzyme – aspergillus niger-derived prolyl endoprotease (AN-PEP) – could potentially reduce the side effects that occur when gluten-sensitive individuals accidentally eat a little gluten.

“We are not suggesting that AN-PEP will give these individuals the ability to eat pizza or pasta, sources of large amounts of gluten, but it might make them feel better if they mistakenly ingest gluten,” she said.

The study involved 18 people with gluten sensitivity who  ate a porridge that included two crumbled wheat cookies containing gluten.

They also took either a high dose or low dose of AN-PEP, or a placebo. The researchers then measured gluten levels in the stomach and small intestine over the course of three hours.

Results showed that AN-PEP, in both high and low doses, broke down gluten in both the stomach and the first part of the small intestine, or duodenum.

In the stomach, gluten levels in both the high- and low-dose groups were 85 percent lower than in the placebo group. Once the food reached the duodenum, gluten levels were reduced by 81 percent in the high dose group and 87 percent in the low dose group versus placebo.

Dr. König noted that her team did not test the enzyme on coeliac disease patients, because even small amounts of gluten can cause long-term harm in these individuals. She does not recommend people with coeliac disease view the enzyme as a way to start eating any gluten.