A 17-year-old Cochrane high school student spent most of her summer in a lab testing the effects of MSG on brain cells.
Michelle Ah-Seng is using brain cells from fresh water pond snails for her research and discovered that MSG had a negative effect on the cells at the basic level.
"We noticed that after an hour the growth cone actually retracted and collapsed, which is not a good thing say in, when babies are developing," said Ah-Seng, "neurons are connections and they're already spreading their fingers towards other neurons."
The young researcher used 2 cells at a time in her comparison, thus simplifying the research process by making a direct comparison between the cell with MSG added and the one without.
"What I did was I basically found a concentration found in the blood after ingesting a meal containing certain amounts of MSG, and I used that concentration and tested it on the neurons," said Ah-Seng.
Previous researchers have used complex model systems making it more difficult to pinpoint the effects.
Neuroscientist Naweed Sayed is the head of Cell Biology and Anatomy at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Medicine and is overseeing Ah-Seng's research.
Sayed says that Ah-Seng's results are ground breaking and could eventually be published in a scientific journal.
"Its a first, to my knowledge, first direct evidence, which is unequivocal," said Sayed, "I think a lot more needs to be done before people stop going and eating msg."
Monosodium Glutamate is commonly found in fast food and snacks and is added to enhance flavour.
Some people who eat MSG may experience an allergic type reaction or hypersensitivity.
Adverse affects may include:
- A burning sensation
- Facial pressure
- Headache
- Nausea
- Chest pains
Reactions are typically temporary and appear about 20 minutes to 2 hours after consumption.
People who are sensitive to MSG or those who experience adverse effect should avoid using it.
For more information on MSG click on the link to the Health Canada website.
