Monosodium glutamate is made up of nutritionally indispensable amino acids and used as flavour enhancer worldwide. Monosodium glutamate is believed to be associated with different health problems. This study is aimed to shed light on the available literature from last 25 years about different clinical trials which had been carried out on animal and human models regarding possible effects of monosodium glutamate. Google scholar, NCBI, PUBMED, EMBASE, Wangfang databases, and Web of Science databases were used to retrieve the available studies. Literature showed that monosodium glutamate was associated with adverse side-effects particularly in animals including induction of obesity, diabetes, hepatotoxic, neurotoxic and genotoxic effects. Different reports revealed increased hunger, food intake, and obesity in human subjects. Limited studies have been carried out on humans to check possible hepatotoxic, neurotoxic, and genotoxic effects of monosodium glutamate. Available literature showed that increased consumption of monosodium glutamate may be associated with harmful health effects. So, it is recommended to use common salt instead of it. Furthermore, intensive research is required to explore monosodium glutamate–related molecular and metabolic mechanisms.

Purpose: Breast cancer is one of the rapidly increasing cancers among women and a significant cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. Therefore, the current study was designed to examine and compare trends of breast cancer incidence (BCI) during the observed period (1990–2015) in specific age groups and investigate age-specific, time period, and birth cohort-related effects on BCI in China, India, Pakistan, and Thailand. Patients and method: Data related to BCI were retrieved from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Age–period–cohort model joint with intrinsic estimator algorithm was used to estimate the effect of age, period, and birth cohort on BCI. BCI rates were analyzed among different age groups ranging from 20 to 84 years in specified periods. Result: Overall, results showed an increasing trend of BCI among four Asian countries during the study period especially in age groups 50 to 84 years. Higher incidence rates were observed in 2015 in the age group 70–74, 65–69, 50–54, and 60–64 in Pakistan, China, India, and Thailand, respectively. Age period cohort analysis revealed significantly raised effect of age and period and declined effect of the cohort on incidence rates. Conclusion: The current study reported increased BCI with time in selected four Asian countries. Overall, BCI remained high in Pakistan as compared to China, India, and Thailand. Although proper registries are not available in most of the developing Asian countries, the current study highlighted the increased incidence and may play an essential role in registries development or spreading awareness against this disease. Therefore, maintaining proper records to build registries at the national level along with advancements in breast cancer screening and treatment are highly recommended to deal with the increasing burden of this disease.

Breast cancer is one of the most important causes of cancer related morbidity and mortality in the world. Along with genetic, environmental factors also play a multifaceted role in the development of disease. Breast contains several bacterial species performing specialized functions. Probiotics, as functional food, play pivotal role against breast cancer development in vivo and in vitro. Current review summarized all the available data related to diet, probiotics, and their association with breast cancer risk along with underlying mechanisms. Presently, it was believed that many of the commercially available probiotic products were safe to use and had some beneficial health effects for the host. Probiotics had a potential to act against breast cancer progression evidenced by many animal model and cell-based experiments. Some probiotics strains may be useful as an adjuvant therapy for breast cancer prevention or treatment, by modulating immune response or breast microbial community. However, large-scale clinical trials and intense research are mandatory to explore probiotics-related metabolic and molecular mechanisms in breast cancer.