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"Junk food" is very popular worldwide. Its taste requires various food additives, the most common of which is monosodium glutamate. Many authors describe functional and structure changes in the nervous, digestive, immune, respiratory and sexual systems that may be caused by monosodium glutamate. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to elucidate the mechanism of its actions on organs and systems. There has been suggested that monosodium glutamate mediates the phenomena of nervous cell apoptosis and acts as a powerful neurotoxin. Studies on rats demonstrated that the diet rich in monosodium glutamate created the preconditions for the development of epilepsy, disorders of emotional and adaptive reactions, hyperalgesia. Monosodium glutamate induced pronounced histological changes in the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, up to the manifestation of acute pancreatitis. Monosodium glutamate causes a destructive effect on the immune system as well. There was an increase in lymphocytes number that were destroyed by apoptosis, narrowing of the vascular lumens in the spleen, dilation of the venous lumen and blood supply in the lymph nodes. The effect on the respiratory system is remaining ambiguous. Atelectasis and pulmonary emphysema, fibrosis, oedema, and haemorrhage up to brown indurations have been reported under the monosodium glutamate consumption in animals. The negative effects of monosodium glutamate potentiated by smoking caused the activation of lipid peroxidation and protein oxidative modification. Monosodium glutamate caused sexual dysfunction in experimental rats that was also likely associated with hypothalamic damage, oxidative stress, and hormonal mechanisms. Thus, monosodium glutamate has been proven to produce a systemic effect on humans and animals. This food supplement has a complex mechanism of action, which can be indirect and direct. The indirect effects deteriorate normal functioning of target organs of the hypothalamus hormones, impacts the autonomic nervous system. The direct effects contribute to hypoxia and fibrosis in the organs, dysfunction of histohematological barriers and haemorrhages.

Due to the widespread use of various food additives, concerns about their potential harm to the human health and their safety of approved daily intake levels in food products are increasing. One area of debate is the impact of food additives on the gastrointestinal mucous membrane. Experimental evidence has shown that the consumption of certain food additives, even within acceptable doses, can exacerbate inflammatory processes and contribute to carcinogenesis in individuals with inflammatory bowel diseases. Evaluating the functions of intestinal digestion and absorption requires considering criteria such as the number of crypts in the intestinal mucosa, their depth, structure, and the degree of cellular infiltration. Previous studies have established that the type of food and the presence of certain substances in the diet can affect the depth of crypts, the proliferative activity of crypt cells, and the number of goblet cells in the large intestine. In this study, the dynamic changes in the cecum crypt metrics of rats were analyzed over a period of 16 weeks under the influence of a complex food additive including monosodium glutamate, sodium nitrite, and ponceau 4R. The rats of the experimental group, with access to water ad libitum, were administered with 0,6 mg/kg sodium nitrite, 20 mg/kg monosodium glutamate and 5 mg/kg ponceau 4R in 0.5 ml of distilled water once daily orally. The control group of rats (n=14) had access to drinking water without any additives and received oral saline administration. Collection of samples for histological examination was carried out at 1, 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks. The morphometric parameters analyzed included the number of crypts in the field of view, their depth, outer diameter, lumen diameter, and the height of epitheliocytes. The results showed that the morphometric parameters of the cecum crypts in rats changed depending on the duration of exposure to the food additive complex of monosodium glutamate, sodium nitrite, and ponceau 4R. The changes observed in the crypt structure and number indicated a significant detrimental effect of the food additive complex on the cecum mucous membrane in rats during the early stages of the experiment. There was an incomplete recovery of the cecum crypts number and structures in the later stages of the experiment; however it occurred in the context of destructive and inflammatory changes in the mucous membrane.

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