Long term effects of monosodium glutamate on spermatogenesis following neonatal exposure in albino mice--a histological study.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG), popularly known as Azinomoto has been in use since long as a flavour enhancing substance. Its widespread use has also earned it a bad name as hazardous for human health. It has been incriminated to cause wide range of effects comprising retinal degeneration, metabolic disorders, endocrinal disorders including reduced fertility rate in both male and female experimental mice and rats following neonatal exposure. However there are many contradicting views too regarding the above effects which have prompted us to undertake the present study. In our study seven newborns of Swiss Albino mice were injected subcutaneously with MSG (2 mg/gm ofbody wt. in a dilution 40 mg of per ml. of distilled water) on completion of 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th day of life. Similar number of controls were injected with same volume of distilled water. Testes were obtained through dissection on completion of 75 days of life. 5 micron thick sections were cut, stained by H.E. and Heidenhain's Iron Haematoxylin and studied under light microscope. It was observed from the quantitative analysis of the seminiferous tubules that there was increase in the number of the pachytene stage of primary spermatocyte in the experimental group as compared to that of the control animals of corresponding age.