Abstract
Objective: The objective of this study was to determine if there were any harmful effects of monosodium glutamate (MSG) on the liver of Wistar albino rats chronically at three different doses, namely, low, mid, and high doses equivalent to human consumption doses in developing countries. Methods: The Wistar albino rats (n=24) were divided into four groups, namely control, Low dose MSG (180 mg/kg), Mid dose MSG (360 mg/kg), and High dose MSG (720 mg/kg). At the end of the experimental period (120 days), animal blood was collected retro-orbitally to analyze the liver enzymes such as aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Total protein, Albumin, and Total Bilirubin in blood serum. Lipid profiles, namely, Triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and Total cholesterol were subjected to analysis using blood serum. Results: Significant increase (p<0.05) in AST, ALT, ALP, and total bilirubin in serum of MSG induced low, mid, and high dose groups when compared to control group were recorded. There was a significant increase (p<0.05) in LDL, decrease in HDL, increase in total cholesterol and triglycerides of MSG-induced animal groups. Conclusion: The effects of MSG on serum liver enzymes and lipid profiles in this present animal study were not severely alarming even though the dosage was chronic which opens further discussion on the controversies revolving around MSG.
Highlights
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is one of the most commonly known and widely used food additives throughout the world, employed in a wide variety of food flavors
All MSG -induced groups show an increase in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) when compared to control groups (Fig. 3)
The present study focused on the human equivalent dosage of MSG at low, mid and high dosage chronically based on average MSG consumption in developing Asian countries
Summary
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is one of the most commonly known and widely used food additives throughout the world, employed in a wide variety of food flavors. Most of cuisines and packaged food industries around the world invariable adopt MSG as flavor-enhancing agent. Even MSG is most commonly employed to induce obesity models in animal studies as it modifies the lipid profile in biological systems [11,12,13]. Earlier studies clearly show that MSG increases low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, and decreases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol [14,15]. We speculated chronic use of MSG at three different doses (low, mid, and high) in animals based on human consumption of MSG in developing countries may induce hepatotoxicity biochemically
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