Oral ingestion of monosodium glutamate (MSG) to chronic alcoholic adult male mice at dose levels of 4 and 8 mg/g body weight for seven consecutive days caused a significant increase in lipid fractions, lipid peroxidation, xanthine oxidase, whereas the levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione, and its metabolizing enzymes like glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase were significantly decreased in the arterial tissue. These observations suggested that ingestion of MSG to chronic alcoholic animals had no beneficial effect and thereby, could act as an additional factor for the initiation of atherosclerosis.
Keywords: Alcohol; lipid peroxidation; monosodium glutamate; oxidative stress and atherosclerosis.