Category: M

The sodium salt of glutamic acid, used to enhance the flavour of savoury dishes and often added to canned meat and soups. A flavor-enhancing food additive commonly known as MSG. Some people are sensitive to MSG and may experience headaches or other negative side effects as a result of consuming it. An artificial flavor enhancer…

(Plural mitochondria). The subcellular organelles in all cells apart from red blood cells in which the major oxidative reactions of metabolism occur, linked to the formation of ATP from ADP. A tiny rod-shaped part of a cell’s cytoplasm responsible for cell respiration. Self-replicating organelle found in the cytoplasm of cells, where it functions in cellular…

Those mineral salts present in the body, and required in the diet, in extremely small amounts (parts per thousand million or less); known to be dietary essentials, although rarely if ever a cause for concern since the amounts required are small and they are widely distributed in foods and water.  

Those mineral salts present in the body, and required in the diet, in small amounts (parts per million). An element present in minute quantities which is essential to the life of an organism.  

Prefix for units of measurement, one thousandth part (i.e. 10¯³); symbol m. A tenth of a cent or one thousandth of a dollar. Used to assess the rate of property taxes.  

A rapid way of assessing nutritional status, especially applicable to children.  

Method of measuring compounds such as vitamins and amino acids, using microorganisms. The principle is that the organism is inoculated into a medium containing all the growth factors needed except the one under examination; the rate of growth is then proportional to the amount of this nutrient added in the test substance.  

An intermediate in the metabolic turnover of succinic acid, this substance typically accumulates in conditions of vitamin B12 deficiency, and can be measured in serum or urine, as a functional index of vitamin B12 status.  

Derivative of the amino acid, histidine, found mainly in the contractile proteins of muscle (myosin and actin).