ABSTRACT

Monosodium Glutamate is a widely used food additive and flavor enhancer that is present in most soups, salads and processed meat and also present in packaged food without appearing on the label. This could result to inadvertent consumption of monosodium glutamate in high concentrations. The present study investigated the effect of monosodium glutamate on liver and testes of adult male wistar rats, by daily oral exposure of different doses. Wistar rats (n=20) of the average weight of 250-280g were randomly assigned to four group, control, group A, B and C in which (n=5) rats are contained in each group. By the end of the stipulated number of days for the exposure, their organs were subjected to histopathological, biochemical hematological and sperm analysis. The results obtained from these examinations showed the deleterious effect of monosodium glutamate on the liver and fertility. Statistical analysis on sperm motility using ANOVA were carried out and revealed significant difference in the mean percentage of motile cells but no significant difference in the mean percentage of slow motile cells and non motile cells. The liver function parameters revealed no significant difference in the ALP, and AST while there is significant difference in ALT. The hormonal parameters revealed no significant difference in the Luteinizing Hormone, and testosterone but significant difference in the follicle stimulating hormone. However, Monosodium glutamate consumption should be minimized, if not completely avoided to curb its deleterious effect to the hepatocytes and male fertility