MSG is ionically bonded between the sodium and the glutamate ion. As soon as it's dissolved in water you no longer have MSG, you have a solution of sodium and g

MSG is ionically bonded between the sodium and the glutamate ion. As soon as it's dissolved in water you no longer have MSG, you have a solution of sodium and glutamate ions. Chicken broth is also a solution high in sodium and glutamate ions. As far as the notion that even dissolved "in liquid form" it's abrasive, there's zero chance that that's true. It's an ionic compound, when it's dissolved in water, it's individual molecules floating around. Those glutamate ions also don't even really float around on their own either, water molecules are attracted to them and sort of ball up around them which is why reverse osmosis membranes can filter out sodium ions even though the pore size is much larger than the size of a sodium atom. If you witnessed some MSG and some water causing a small scratch on some metal then either whatever you were using to rub it against the metal caused the scratch or it was something insoluble other than MSG that did it. Maybe silica was added as an anti-caking agent (which is completely safe, a tiny bit of sand dust is not going to hurt you if you aren't inhaling a bunch) and the particle size was coarse enough to leave a visible scratch, either way it's not possible for dissolved MSG to be abrasive. But you don't have to take my word on the subject, here's a study on the subject. " Monosodium Glutamate in the Diet Does Not Raise Brain Glutamate Concentrations or Disrupt Brain Functions" https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/494782 https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/494782