The administration of monosodium glutamate (MSG) to a mouse or rat in the neonatal period induced destructive lesions in the arcuate nuclei of the hypothalamus and resulted in a syndrome of obesity, stunting and an abnormal reproductive function. In the present study, plasma lipoprotein metabolism and lipid content in liver were investigated in MSG-treated rats and controls. The MSG treated rats revealed a marked increase of plasma triglyceride concentration and a slight but significant increase of total cholesterol and phospholipids concentrations in both male and female rats. Al-P and T-Bil were also significantly increased in MSG treated rats. There was no significant difference in GOT, GPT and LDH between MSG-treated rats and controls. Triglyceride content in liver was significantly increased in MSG rats than in controls (male:58.9±29.9 vs. 12.5±6.6mg/g of wet weight of liver, female:25.8±8.7 vs. 7.7±2.0mg/g of wet weight of liver). Total cholesterol content in liver was significantly increased in female MSG rats than in female controls. However, total cholesterol content in liver was not different in male rats. There was no significant difference in phospholipids content in liver between MSG-treated rats and controls. In male MSG-treated rats, there were positive correlations between liver function tests and plasma lipid concentrations. We reported hyperlipidemia and increased level of VLDL in MSG-treated rats. These results suggested that the increment of VLDL was related to the abnormalities of lipid contents in liver of male MSG-treated rats.
