Japanese Ajinomoto develops anti-dementia monosodium glutamate

Japanese food flavoring giant Ajinomoto has proposed amino acids such as sodium glutamate (also known as monosodium glutamate, MSG) as candidates for combating dementia. The company is developing a series of flavoring products to help improve cognitive health.

According to a survey by the Labor and Welfare Research Group of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, by 2025, the population of dementia will increase from 4.62 million in 2012 to 7.3 million. disease.

Daisuke Nakamiya, senior manager of Ajinomoto Global Communications, said the company is conducting contract research with universities on the potential benefits of amino acids and working with local hospitals and governments.

 Researchers from Tottori University and the Ajinomoto Innovation Institute published a study on the potential benefits of monosodium glutamate in patients with dementia in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In this study, 159 dementia patients who were hospitalized or in nursing homes were divided into two groups. A group of 80 subjects added 0.26 grams of salt (NaCl) to each meal (three meals a day). The other group consisted of 79 subjects who added 0.9 grams of MSG to each meal (three meals a day). These salts or monosodium glutamate are added to porridge, miso or other soups, or mixed with main courses, and the sodium intake is the same in both groups. The intake period of this study was 12 weeks, and another 4 weeks of observation period.

 During the observation period, the researchers found that compared with the salt intake group, the MSG intake group scored significantly higher in the overall cognitive ability test (p <0.05). In addition, the patients who ingested MSG scored significantly higher in word recognition (p <0.05) and clock time recognition test (p <0.01) than the other group.

 In the study, the researchers believed that MSG could also improve the nutritional status of these patients. They believe that with the increase of age, the ability of the elderly to taste umami decreases, leading to the inability to enjoy food, affecting the overall food intake, and loss of appetite are the main causes of dementia in the elderly.

In this study, the addition of monosodium glutamate increased the umami of food and improved the appetite of the elderly, and the cognitive function of patients with dementia was also enhanced.

 Ajinomoto emphasized that these are only preliminary findings and further research is needed to prove the positive effects of MSG on dementia, cognitive ability, and food intake.