CAN PLACENTA PROTECT FETUS FROM MSG EXPOSURE?

Many industry sponsored academics argue that placenta could provide a 100% protection against Mono Sodium Glutamate (MSG) passage into fetus. Although it is true that intact placental barrier could offer a near complete protection from free glutamate flow, this is not the case for many fetuses.

Placental barrier can be breached due to a number of reasons:

1. Feto-placental hemorrhages occur in 3 per every 1000 pregnancies (1).

2. Multiple placental infarcts occur in 5% of pregnancies (2).

3.  Chorangiosis - a change in placental vessels occur in mothers living in high altitudes; leads to hypoxemia

4. maternal floor infarcts - rare

5. Fetal thrombotic vasculopathy

6. Meconium myonecrosis - 15 million out of 130 million babies (23% of all births) annually born worldwide experience meconium aspiration .

7. Endothelial damage due to chronic inflammatory conditions such as diabetes in pregnancy - in India, Gestational diabetes ('a type of diabetes in pregnancy') prevalence alone is more than 20%.

When these statistics are taken into account, nearly one out of every three fetuses, carry an exposure risk for glutamate flow depending on the degree of vascular breach and dietary habits of their mothers.

Studies carried out on pregnant animal models to explore effects of MSG exposure in pregnancy, had consistently led to low birth weight fetuses.

Hence, it seems logical to advice pregnant mothers to avoid MSG containing food during pregnancy, but FDA had never even considered it - A federal watchdog?

(1.) Placental findings in feto-maternal hemorrhage in livebirth and stillbirth

SanjitaRavishankarab1AlisonMiglioriaJudyStruminskyaPhinnaraHasaC. JamesSungabMaiHe

Pathology - Research and Practice

Volume 213, Issue 4, April 2017, Pages 301-304

(2.) Placental Pathology, a Survival Guide (2007)

 Drucilla J. Roberts, MD