Monosodium glutamate

Animal and lab studies only

• No harm found

  Brain development in young rats¹²

  In animal studies, young rats fed monosodium glutamate showed no clear signs of harm to brain development.

Study type not stated

• Concern

  Food additive health risks⁴

  MSG is a common food additive that studies link to high blood pressure, obesity and gut trouble.

• Open question

  Organs and body systems⁵

  Scientists reviewed studies on monosodium glutamate and say more research is needed on how it affects the body.

• Open question

  Headaches after eating⁶

  Scientists do not yet know whether monosodium glutamate causes headaches, and studies so far disagree.

• Open question

  Headaches and migraines⁸

  Scientists do not yet know whether monosodium glutamate triggers headaches, as studies give conflicting results.

• Concern

  Brain and liver health⁹

  Eating foods rich in monosodium glutamate has been linked to brain, liver, weight and blood sugar problems.

• No harm found

  Allergy and asthma symptoms¹⁰

  Decades of research have not shown a clear link between eating monosodium glutamate and asthma, hives, or a runny nose.

• Concern

  symptoms after eating¹¹

  Some people get headaches, sweating, stomach pain or rashes after eating monosodium glutamate in Chinese food.

How it’s made and used

• Everyday food consumption levels³

  Scientists worked out how much monosodium glutamate people in China eat each day from everyday foods.

• How body processes it⁷

  Your body handles glutamate from monosodium glutamate the same way it handles glutamate from ordinary protein foods.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least two findings in people. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.