POTENTIAL EFFECT OF SOME NATURAL FOOD ADDITIVES AGAINST MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE-INDUCED GENOTOXICITY IN Vicia faba

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is one of the most widely used flavor enhancers throughout the world. The objective of this study was to evaluate the genotoxic effect of MSG on V. faba seedlings. Moreover, the effects of adding some natural materials to MSG; e.g. chitosan, four different spices (black pepper, cumin, chili pepper and ginger) and three different forms of black nightshade plant; BNS (leaves, immature and mature fruits) were tested. Seeds of V. faba were treated with single concentration of MSG (10 g/L); alone (as a positive control) or combined with 1% aqueous solution of each of these natural additives. Results indicated that the treatment of MSG reduced germination value than negative control at 72 h. On the other hand, the use of black pepper and cumin at 48 h, in addition, chitosan at 72 h significantly increased seed germination compared to negative and positive control. The highest root length value (3.11 cm) was observed for cumin treatment. Exposure to MSG and combined treatments showed an inhibitory effect on cell division and caused a general decline in mitotic index. Additionally, all treatments caused significantly increase in the percentage of abnormal cells, except cumin which did not differ significantly from the negative control. By analyzing the RAPD-PCR with twelve arbitrary primers, all treatments caused slight reductions in genomic template stability (GTS) values compared to the negative control. The highest value of GTS (87.50%) was recorded for positive control, while treatments of black pepper and cumin exhibited the lowest value (78.12% for each). These results indicated that all the tested materials may interact with MSG causing genotoxic effects. In general, black pepper and cumin had the lowest genotoxic effects.