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Background
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Gliadins are known for their role, along with glutenin, in the formation of gluten. It is slightly soluble in ethanol and contains only intramolecule disulfide links. These proteins are essential to giving bread the ability to rise properly and fix it's shape in baking. They are also some of the best examples of food-derived pathogenesis. People with gluten-sensitive enteropathy (the severe form of which is coeliac disease) are sensitive to alpha, beta, and gamma gliadins. Those with wheat-dependent (WD) exercise-induced anaphylaxis, WD urticaria and Baker's asthma are sensitive to omega-gliadins. Gliadin can also serve as a useful delivery method for sensitive enzymes (such as superoxide dismutase, which is fused with gliadin to form glisodin) -- this helps protect them from stomach acids that cause breakdown.
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