Histomorphometric study on effects of monosodium glutamate in liver tissue of Wistar rats

Thousands of food additives are being used by the food industries in ready to eat packed food. These food additives act as either preservatives or enhancers of palatability. Monosodium glutamate (MSG), a sodium salt of glutamic acid is a widely used food additive for enhancing taste. It gives the unique taste to the food called "Umami" or "Savory taste", which is different from four primary tastes namely, sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. The current experimental study was investigated by dose-related effects of MSG on adult Wistar rats using histological and histomorphometric techniques.

Twenty-eight adult Wistar rats were divided into four groups i.e.; one control and three experimental groups. Rats were administered orally with different doses of MSG to the experimental groups and distilled water to the control groups consecutively for 45 days. At the end of the study, rats were sacrificed and tissues were collected for the examination.

Histomorphometric data of the nuclei diameter of hepatocytes showed significant variation between control and experimental groups. Less PAS-positive material found in a higher dose of MSG-induced rats in histochemical observation.

One of the challenges of the problem of animal experimental studies is the application of results to human dietary intake of MSG. Based on the dose-dependent findings of the current study; it is evident that the administration of MSG is hepatotoxic in adult Wistar rats.