Overview

Monosodium glutamate (mon-oh-SOH-dee-yum GLOO-tuh-mate) is an almost completely odorless white crystalline powder. It is the sodium salt of a common amino acid called glutamic acid. An organic salt is a compound formed when an inorganic base, such as sodium hydroxide, reacts with an organic acid, such as glutamic acid.

Monosodium glutamate has been available as a commercial product for about a century. But the compound has been used in its natural form for much longer. The ancient Greeks and Romans used fish sauce, which contains glutamic acid as a natural ingredient, in their cooking. Later Europeans also used a form of the substance in a product known as garum.

Key Facts

Other Names:

Sodium glutamate; glutamic acid monosodium salt; MSG

Formula:

COOH(CH₂)₂CH(NH₂)COONa

Elements:

Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sodium

Compound Type:

Organic salt

State:

Solid

Molecular Weight:

169.11 g/mol

Melting Point:

Not...