Control of intractable gastric hemorrhage by monosodium glutamate.

Monosodium L glutamate (MSG) has been known and used to stop focal bleeding in remoted area and around battle fields along Thai-Laos-Cambodian border. The hemostatic effect of MSG was studied by Jaiarj eta/ (l985a). It was found that MSG decreased the bleeding times of the wounds made by excising the tails or by incising the femoral veins ofWistar rats. In an in vitro study with human blood, thrombin time was shown to be shortened and there was a prolonged euglobulin lysis time which suggested that MSG probably accelerated the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin and also affected fibrinolytic system. J aiarj eta/ (1985b) also showed that MSG could potentiate the vasoconstriction effect of norepinephrine in a rabbit aortic strip.