Sodium Glutamate Effect

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) has a flavor-enhancing effect in foods. When it is added to foods, it provides a flavoring function similar to naturally occurring free glutamate (IFICF, 2001). It usually used to enhance the natural flavors of meats, poultry, seafood, snacks, soups and stews (IFICF, 2001). According to a joint inquiry by the governments of Australia and New Zealand in 2003, a typical Chinese restaurant meal contains between 10 and 1500 mg of MSG per 100 g. A condensed soup typically contains between 0 and 480mg and packaged sauces or seasonings contain 20 to 1900 mg (Freeman, 2006). The consumption of MSG has increased globally in recent years with an estimation of the average daily intake from foods reported to be about up

Here, with a mature BBB, the effect of MSG has a different mechanism; MSG-induced cytotoxicity was associated with increased oxidative stress and led to apoptosis and autophagy of pancreatic β- cells (Di Cairano et al., 2011). It has been reported that MSG has neurotoxic effects resulting in brain cell damage, retinal degeneration, endocrine disorders and some pathological conditions such as, stroke, epilepsy, neuropathic pain, schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, Parkinson‟s disease, Alzheimer 's disease, Huntington 's chorea, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cited in (Eweka et al., 2013). Also, MSG can cause anxiogenic- and depressive-like behaviors (Porsolt et al., 1979; Onishi and Xavier, 2010 and Quines et al., 2014). Some studies reveled that it can affect the cognitive function and learning ability (Abu-Taweel et al., 2014), memory retrieval (Pilgrim et al., 2012 and Summers et al.,

Effect of MSG on nervous system regarding the cognitive function in male albino rats by;

a. Testing their cognitive behavior in a rat maze

b. Measuring serotonin level in brain tissue

c. Histopathological examination of brain tissue regions that are reported to be responsible for cognitive activities.

2. Quantification of MSG in different food samples, consumed in Assiut city, by High performance liquid