Effects of monosodium glutamate on somatic development, obesity and activity in the mouse.

Neonatal mice 1 and 5 days of age and older mice 25 days of age were injected with an increasing dose of monosodium glutamate (MSG) for a ten-day period and observed for at least 150 days. Both male and female animals in the 1- and 5-day age group treated with MSG showed large increases in weight over controls along with a shortened body length. The MSG group also showed decreases in locomotor and explatory behavior. The 25-day animals took much longer to show effects or failed to show any effects, indicating that the MSG-induced changes studied are age dependent. Possible methodological considerations accounting for conflicting reports in the MSG literature are discussed in light of the present findings.