Monosodium glutamate 'allergy': menace or myth?
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a salt form of a non-essential amino acid commonly used as a food additive for its unique flavour enhancing qualities. Since the first description of the 'Monosodium glutamate symptom complex', originally described in 1968 as the 'Chinese restaurant syndrome', a number of anecdotal reports and small clinical studies of variable quality have attributed a variety of symptoms to the dietary ingestion of MSG. Descriptions of MSG-induced asthma, urticaria, angio-oedema, and rhinitis have prompted some to suggest that MSG should be an aetiologic consideration in patients presenting with these conditions. This review prevents a critical review of the available literature related to the possible role of MSG in the so-called 'Chinese restaurant syndrome' and in eliciting asthmatic bronchospasm, urticaria, angio-oedema, and rhinitis. Despite concerns raised by early reports, decades of research have failed to demonstrate a clear and consistent relationship between MSG ingestion and the development of these conditions.
Williams
A N
AN
Division of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, Scripps Clinic, San Diego, CA 92130, USA. a.williams33@yahoo.com
Woessner
K M
KM
D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology; D005503:Food Additives / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D012970:Sodium Glutamate / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology*; D013649:Taste / Q000276:immunology
D000485:Allergens; D005503:Food Additives; D012970:Sodium Glutamate