MSG and learned liking for a savory soup in people
What it found
In 32 people, eating a soup with added MSG four times made them like the soup more and eat more of it later, even when the MSG was removed.
The authors say this shows MSG can train a liking for a flavor.
What they found
Studies in people
Liking increased
After training with MSG, people rated the plain soup as more pleasant than before, while the control group's liking decreased.
Intake increased
People who had the MSG soup ate more of the plain soup afterwards, while the control group ate slightly less.
Hunger after tasting
Tasting the soup made people hungrier after MSG training, but not after control training.
Savory quality
The soup did not taste more savory or salty after MSG training, even though liking went up.
During training
While training, the soup with MSG was rated as more pleasant and more savory than the plain soup, but not more salty, sweet, sour or bitter.
What the authors conclude
“These findings demonstrate that co-experience of a savory flavor and MSG can result in increased subsequent liking and intake for the flavor in the absence of MSG, and possible explanations for how MSG reinforces learning are discussed.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that repeated experience of a savory flavor with MSG can increase liking and intake for that flavor even when MSG is no longer present.
- They say that whether this is due to the taste of MSG or its effects after swallowing needs more research.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see if pairing a flavor with MSG could increase liking and intake of that flavor on its own, since earlier studies had not found this.
32 volunteers rated and ate a novel savory soup before and after four training sessions where they consumed the same soup either plain or with 0.5% MSG added. The soup was then tested again without MSG.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a small study with 32 people, so the results may not apply to everyone.
- The study lasted only a short time, so it cannot show if the increased liking lasts.
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
- Full text
- 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.2007.12.009Free full textPubMed 18279899DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error