MSG is a salt of glutamic acid: similar to table salt, which consists of chlorine and sodium, MSG contains glutamic acid and sodium (hence the "monosodium" in its name).

It’s also found human breast milk. At the turn of the 20th century, a Japanese scientist ― more on him later ― discovered a way to isolate that glutamic acid in food and stabilize it with salt.

Glutamate is a key molecule in cellular metabolism. In humans, dietary proteins are broken down by digestion into amino acids, which serves as metabolic fuel or other functional roles in the body ...

The global glutamic acid market, valued at an estimated USD 11.1 billion in 2025, is on a robust growth trajectory, anticipated to reach USD 17.6 billion by 2035, exhibiting a Compound Annual Growth ...

As University of Tokyo chemistry professor Kikunae Ikeda discovered in 1908, MSG is the most stable salt formed from glutamic acid, and one that best delivers the sought-after ‘umami’ taste.

Glutamate is one kind of 20 kinds of amino acids, which is a necessary ingredient for human body, but it is basically unnecessary to ingest from food, because it can be produced in the human body.

MSG has been used to season food for more than 100 years. Traditionally it was extracted from seaweed broth, but now it's made by fermenting starch in sugar beets, sugar cane and molasses.

Figure 1. Three excitatory amino acid. The pharmacophores [2] of domoic acid, kainic acid, and glutamic acid (aka glutamate) are very similar. Note that all three have a basic nitrogen, a three-carbon ...

As University of Tokyo chemistry professor Kikunae Ikeda discovered in 1908, MSG is the most stable salt formed from glutamic acid, and one that best delivers the sought-after ‘umami’ taste.