Monosodium glutamate is the synthesized version, and it’s usually made by fermenting bacteria so that they excrete it.

谷氨酸钠是合成的，通常是通过发酵细菌制成的，以便它们将其排出体外。

He wrote a letter detailing his symptoms to a prestigious medical journal, pondering whether his illness had resulted from eating monosodium glutamate — also known as MSG.

他写信给一份很有名望的医学期刊详述他的症状，怀疑他的不适是不是因为吃了谷氨酸钠，又名味精。

Just like if you wanted your food to be saltier, you’d add salt, if you wanted to give your food a kick of umami, a more savory taste, you’d add monosodium glutamate.

就像如果你想让你的食物更咸， 你会加盐，如果你想让你的食物更鲜味， 更美味， 你会添加味精。

Half a century ago, a letter published in The New England Journal of Medicine described a terrifying new condition whose symptoms — headache, sweating, heart palpitations — were associated with a common ingredient of dishes served in Chinese restaurants: monosodium glutamate, or MSG.

半个世纪以前，一封发表在《新英格兰医学杂志》上的信描述了一种可怕的新性疾病，其症状——头痛、出汗、心悸——都与中餐馆中常见的一种调料有关：味精。