Monosodium glutamate and how it changes liking for savory flavors
What it found
Pairing a new savory soup with monosodium glutamate made people like the soup more and drink more of it later, even without MSG added.
This was tested in 32 volunteers.
What they found
Studies in people
Liking the soup more
Adding MSG during training made the soup taste nicer and more savory. Later, when tasting the plain soup, the MSG group liked it more than the control group did.
Drinking more soup
After training, people who had eaten the soup with MSG chose to drink more of the plain soup. The control group did not drink more.
Feeling hungrier
Tasting the plain soup after training made the MSG group feel hungrier. This did not happen in the control group.
What the authors conclude
- They found that experiencing a savory flavor together with MSG can increase later liking and intake of that flavor, even when MSG is absent.
- The authors discuss possible reasons why MSG might strengthen this kind of learning.
How it was done
MSG is known to make savory foods taste better. Scientists wanted to know if eating a flavor together with MSG could change how much people like that flavor on its own later.
Thirty-two volunteers tried a new savory soup before and after four training sessions. During training, some ate the plain soup while others ate the same soup with added MSG. They then tasted the plain soup again to see if their feelings about it had changed.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This trial only looked at one type of soup over four sessions. It cannot show if the same thing happens with other foods or over longer periods.
- The study measured short-term changes in liking and intake right after training. It does not show how long these effects last.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (from the PubMed record).
- Authors work at
- University of Sussex, UK
The paper
- Title
- Acquired flavor acceptance and intake facilitated by monosodium glutamate in humans
- Type
- Clinical trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Yeomans MR, Gould NJ, Mobini S, Prescott J (2008). Acquired flavor acceptance and intake facilitated by monosodium glutamate in humans. Physiology & behavior. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.12.009PubMed 18279899DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error