Monosodium Glutamate and the Chinese Restaurant Syndrome

IT has been suggested^1-4 that monosodium glutamate (MSG) is responsible for the ``Chinese restaurant syndrome''-a burning sensation in the back of the neck spreading to the forearms and to the anterior thorax, accompanied by a feeling of infraorbital pressure, tightness and substernal discomfort. But no study of this phenomenon involved a double blind technique, or any other experimental condition which can be used to assess the significance of subjective reactions.