Citrinin, a hepato-nephrotoxic compound to humans, can be produced by the food fermentation microorganisms Monascus spp. In this study, we investigated the distribution of mycotoxin citrinin biosynthesis genes in 18 Monascus strains. The results show that the acyl-transferase and ketosynthase domains of the pksCT gene encoding citrinin polyketide synthase were found in Monascus purpureus, Monas...

The production of Monascus pigments and related byproducts, via microbial fermentation, has been broadly utilized as coloring by traditional food industries and as a natural textile dye. In addition to these traditional purposes, Monascus pigments have been recently favored for a variety of commercial and academic purposes. Pigments and derivatives formed during Monascus fermentation have pharm...

Monascus purpureus is a red dye derived from yeast rice and has been used as color additives for food in East Asia. Monascus purpureus consists of several bioactive components. Some of these components work as a radical scavenger, thus monascus purpureus would also eliminate reactive oxygen species. Cancer cells maintain the high level of reactive oxygen species than normal cell and are death b...

The genus Monascus was described by van Tieghem (1884) to accommodate M. ruber and M. mucoroides, two species with non-ostiolate ascomata. Species delimitation in the genus is still mainly based on phenotypic characters, and taxonomic studies that include sequence data are limited. The genus is of economic importance. Species are used in fermented Asian foods as food colourants (e.g. 'red rice'...

Background: Many common cancers, such as prostate, breast, and colon, are caused by harmful substances and compounds contained in processed foods, including nitrite-treated meats. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of replacing sodium nitrite with Monascus purpureus pigment in sausage and to assess its antimicrobial, antioxidant, color, and sensory properties. Methods: The...

BACKGROUND Monascus mycelia and pigments are promising sources of food and medicine with their potential pharmaceutical values and health-improving functions. Using high cell density fermentation of Monascus spp. to achieve higher mycelium and yellow pigment production is worthy to be researched. In this study, the characteristics and productivity shifting of pigments in high cell density cultu...

The effect of light on Monascus and the underlying mechanism have received a great deal of interest for the industrial application of Monascus pigments. In this study, we have examined the effects of blue light on the culture morphology, mycelium growth, pigments, and citrinin yield of Monascus in liquid-state and oscillation fermentation, and explored the mechanism at a physiological level. It...

Citrinin is a kind of mycotoxin, which is produced during Monascus fermentation to produce Monascus Pigments. Studies have shown that citrinin has certain nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity, which can cause tumor, induce mutation and so on. The pretreatment of samples was carried out by ultrasonic assisted extraction centrifugal separation and nitrogen blowing concentration, and HPLC with fluore...

Monacolin K-enriched ganghwayakssuk (Artemisia princeps Pamp.) was developed by fermentation with Monascus sp. Among the 15 Monascus spp. isolated previously from Monascus fermentation products, Monascus pilosus KMU108 produced 2,219 mg/kg of monacolin K during ganghwayakssuk fermentation with no detectable citrinin. The optimum concentrations of ganghwayakssuk and glucose determined from the r...

In China, Monascus spp., a traditional fungus used in fermentation, is used as a natural food additive. Monascus spp. can produce a secondary metabolite, monacolin K namely, which is proven to be a cholesterol-lowering and hypotensive agent. Hence, recently, many researchers have begun focusing on how to increase the production of monacolin K by Monascus purpureus. In the present study, we inve...