Harmful Effects of MSG on Function of Hypothalamus—Pituitary—Target Gland System

It has been demonstrated that neonatal administration of monosodium glutamate(MSG)results in a clearly defined lesion of the arcuate nucleus(AN)of the hypothalamus.The present study shows that fat was accumulated in the abdomen of male rats treated with MSG;weights of the body,pituitary and testis were lower;β-EP content in hypothalamus decreased while L-EnK content increased;serum LH,FSH,TSH,GH and TS levels all decreased in varying degrees while serum PRL level significantly increased.The cAMP content lowered in pituitary,but nor in testes;clear histological changes occurred in testicular tissue;Se-GSH-Px activity in both testis and adrenal gland lowered while LPO level significantly increased.Both Se-GSH-Px activity and LPO level in liver increased.These results indicate that MSG is harmful to the function of the hypothalamus-pituitarytarget system of neonatal rats.