Investigation of the Effects of Monosodium Glutamate on the Embryonic Development of the Eye in Chickens

Abstract

MSG is the most ubiquitous food additive in the food industry. The aim of this report was to investigate the effects of in ovo MSG administration on embryonic chicken eye development using histological and histometric methods. A total of 410 fertilized eggs obtained from Babcock Brown laying hens (Gallus gallus domesticus) were used and divided into 5 groups: I (untreated control), II (vehicle control), III (0.12 mg/g egg MSG), IV (0.6 mg/g egg MSG), and V (1.2 mg/g egg MSG), and injections were performed via the egg yolk. At incubation day 15, 18, and 21, 6 embryos from each group were sacrificed by decapitation and pieces of eye tissue were obtained. In all MSG groups, it was determined that both corneal epithelium thickness and total corneal thickness decreased at incubation time points 15, 18, and 21 days compared with the controls (p < 0.05). The total retinal thickness, thickness of the outer nuclear layer (ONL), inner nuclear layer (INL), ganglion cell layer (GL), and nerve fibre layers (NFL), as well as the number of ganglion cells decreased significantly at incubation days 15, 18, and 21 (p <0.05), and degenerative changes such as vacuolar degeneration and retinal pigment epithelial detachment were also observed. In conclusion, MSG in ovo administration can affect the cornea and distinct layers of retinal cells.

Histopathological and immunohistochemical study to determine the effects of monosodium glutamate on skeletal muscle development in chickens

“…MSG consumption has increased all over the world with the increase in ready-to-eat food consumption, with reported daily average intakes of 1 g in European countries and 4 g in Asian countries (Park et al 2014). Recent studies have shown that MSG may also have negative effects on many organs and tissues such as the digestive, reproductive, nervous, and immune systems (Jubaidi et al 2019, Zanfirescu et al 2019, Banerjee et al 2021, Bölükbaş and Öznurlu 2022, Bölükbaş and Öznurlu 2023a, Bölükbaş and Öznurlu 2023b. Chicken embryos are one of the most frequently used models to determine the embryotoxic, genotoxic, and teratogenic effects of agents such as drugs, toxins (Stoloff et al 1972, Berg et al 1999.…”