Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the ultrastructural changes in the components of the respiratory portion of the lungs in rats under normal conditions and under the impact of the complex of food additives: monosodium glutamate, sodium nitrite and Ponceau 4R. Materials and Methods: Rats in the experimental group were administered 0.6 mg/kg of sodium nitrite, 20 mg/kg of monosodium glutamate, and 5 mg/ kg of Ponceau 4R in 0.5 ml of distilled water once daily orally. The animals were removed from the experiment after 1, 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks. An electron microscopic examination was performed. Results: The respiratory portion of the rat lungs has a typical structure and can be extrapolated to the human body. At the early stages, vasospasm of the capacitance vessels was observed, accompanied by erythrocyte stasis, which led to the initial impairment of blood perfusion through the vessels. This was reflected in the condition of the interalveolar connective tissue and manifested as edema. Destructive and dystrophic changes were observed in the alveolar type II cells, leading to a disruption of the normal surfactant structure, as well as destructive changes in alveolar type I cells and the hemocapillary wall. Additionally, signs of activation of the humoral branch of the immune system were noted, evidenced by the presence of actively phagocytizing alveolar macrophages. Conclusions: The consumption of the complex of food additives leads to destructive-dystrophic changes in the structural components of the lungs in rats and reorganization of the components of the intercellular substance