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This study compared the nutritional components, isoflavones, and antioxidant activities by solid-sate fermentation of Apios americana Medikus (AAM) with seven different fungi. The total fatty acid contents increased from 120.5 mg/100 g (unfermented AAM, UFAAM) to 242.0 to 3167.5 mg/100 g (fermented AAM, FAAM) with all fungi. In particular, the values of total fatty acids were highest (26.3-fold increase) in the FAAM with Monascus purpureus. The amount of total free amino acids increased from 591.69 mg/100 g (UFAAM) to 664.38 to 1603.07 mg/100 g after fermentation except for Monascus pilosus and Lentinula edodes. The total mineral contents increased evidently after fermentation with M. purpureus, F. velutipes, and Tricholoma matsutake (347.36 → 588.29, 576.59, and 453.32 mg/100 g, respectively). The UFAAM predominated isoflavone glycosides, whereas glycoside forms were converted into aglycone forms after fermentation by fungi. The bioconversion rates of glycoside to aglycone were excellent in the FAAM with M. pilosus, M. purpureus, F. velutipes, and T. matsutake (0.01 → 0.69, 0.50, 0.27, and 0.31 mg/g, respectively). Furthermore, the total phenolic contents, total flavonoid contents, and antioxidant activities by the abovementioned FAAM were high except for L.edodes. This FAAM can be used as a potential food and pharmaceutical materials., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Citrinin is a hepato-nephrotoxic mycotoxin produced by fungal species. The Monascus purpureus fungus plays a crucial role in the fermentation of red rice to produce red yeast rice-based food supplements, which represent the primary source of human exposure to citrinin. In this study, a simple and sensitive analytical method was successfully developed and validated for the citrinin determination in these products. The extraction process involved a QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) step and citrinin determination by ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). The proposed method provided satisfactory linearity, percentage of recovery from 82 to 104% with relative standard deviations (RSD) lower than 14%, and limits of detection and quantification of 0.07 μg/Kg and 0.24 μg/kg, respectively. Among the 14 samples analyzed, citrinin was found in two red rice samples (0.24 and 0.46 μg/kg) and in six food supplements (from 0.44 to 87 μg/kg)., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Fermentation of red grapefruit by Monascus purpureus (M. purpureus) results in complex changes in flavor compounds and metabolic profiles, but the specifics of these alterations are not well understood. This study aimed to investigate the changes in flavor compounds and metabolomic traits during this fermentation process. Using Headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) with non-targeted metabolomics, we analyzed flavor compounds and measured physicochemical indices throughout the fermentation period. We identified 23 volatile flavor metabolites before and after fermentation, focusing on acids, alcohols, and aldehydes, of these, 9 showed an upward effect and 14 showed a downward effect. Key metabolic pathways involved included butyric acid, taurine, and hypotaurine, with notable downregulation of acetone and 1-butanol in the butyric acid pathway. The study reveals that butyric acid-related metabolism influences other pathways such as glycolysis, fatty acid metabolism, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle in M. purpureus. These findings provide insights into the generation of flavor compounds during fermentation and offer a theoretical basis for the industrial production of fermented citrus fruits., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declared that they have no conflicts of interest to this work. The paper was coauthored by Chan Zhang, Congcong Wang, Haijiao Wang, Arzugul Ablimit, Qing Sun, Huijun Dong, Bobo Zhang, Wenlin Hu, Chengjian Liu, Chengtao Wang. We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence our work, there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript entitled, “dentification of characteristic volatiles and metabolomic pathway during the fermentation of red grapefruit by Monascus purpureus using HS-SPME-GC-MS and metabolomics.”., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The differences in volatile flavor compounds (VFCs) between Monascus-solid-state fermented Tartary buckwheat (MSFTB) and Monascus-liquid-state fermented Tartary buckwheat (MLFTB) were investigated using electronic nose and gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) analysis. The study revealed several significant differences in the composition and abundance of VFCs between the two states. Compared to MSFTB, MLFTB exhibited notable increases in various elements including protein, crude fat, total flavonoids, total polyphenols, Monacolin K, Monascus pigments. Principal component analysis demonstrated significant increases in the production of specific VFCs in MLFTB compared to MSFTB. A total of 25 VFCs were identified through GC-IMS, including 9 esters, 7 alcohols, 5 ketones, and 4 aldehydes. The content of pleasant VFCs in MLFTB was significantly higher than in MSFTB. These compounds served as both VFCs and key aroma components during fermentation. In conclusion, the Monascus fermentation state played a crucial role in enhancing the flavor quality of Tartary buckwheat., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Alkaline extracted endopolysaccharides (MPS) from Monascus purpureus (Hong Qu) mycelium were successfully separated into four sub-fractions, namely MPS-1 (18.0 %), MPS-2 (27.1 %), MPS-3 (12.6 %) and MPS-4 (14.7 %), by DEAE-Cellulose column chromatography. By combining monosaccharide composition analysis, methylation analysis and 1D & 2D NMR, the structure of sub-fractions was systematically characterized. Both MPS-1 and MPS-2 were comprised of mannose, glucose and galactose in the molar ratio of 1.5:1.6:1.0 and 10.6:1.0:13.8, respectively. The backbone of them both consisted of 2-α-Manp with several different branched chains. However, MPS-1 contained glucose based sugar residues such as 3-Glcp and 4-Glcp which were not shown on MPS-2. The proposed structures of MPS-3 and MPS-4 were not obtained due to the fairly complex molecular structure and relatively low yield. Moreover, based on the RAW 264.7 cells model, MPS-2 could significantly promote cytokines secretion including IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-10 and improve expression levels of the related mRNA., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Monascus, which is traditionally used in various Asian industries, produces several secondary metabolites during the fermentation process, including citrinin, a toxin whose impact limits the development of the Monascus industry. We have previously found that the addition of 2.0 g/L genistein to Monascus medium reduces citrinin production by approximately 80%. Here, we explored the molecular mechanisms whereby genistein affects citrinin production. We sequenced the Monascus genome and performed transcriptome analysis on genistein-treated and -untreated groups. Comparison between the two groups showed 378 downregulated and 564 upregulated genes. Among the latter, we further examined the genes related to citrinin biosynthesis and quantified them using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Genes orf5, pksCT, orf3, orf1, orf6, and ctnE were significantly downregulated, demonstrating that genistein addition indeed affects citrinin synthesis. Our results may lay the groundwork for substantial improvements in the Monascus fermentation industry., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Water-soluble Monascus yellow pigment (WSMYP) prepared from monascorubin is widely used in the food industry. However, the structure and composition of this pigment has been unclear until now. In the present study, the components of WSMYP has been identified by means of HPLC coupled with a photodiode-array detector (PAD) and an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD), HPLC/ESI-MS-MS, and high resolution ESI-MS (HR-ESI-MS). Eight compounds have been separated from WSMYP and unambiguously structurally characterized; namely, monascin, ankaflavin and six novel compounds with molecular weights/structural formulae of 356/C 21 H 24 O 5 , 376/C 21 H 28 O 6 , 384/C 23 H 28 O 5 , 404/C 23 H 32 O 6 , 437/C 21 H 27 NO 7 S, and 465/C 23 H 31 NO 7 S. Compounds 3 (376/C 21 H 28 O 6 ), 7 (437/C 21 H 27 NO 7 S), and 8(465/C 23 H 31 NO 7 S) are the main components in WSMYP with contents of 55.8%, 16.5%, and 10.1%, respectively. These results provide useful information for further bioactivity studies and industrial application of WSMYP., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this work, a new functional food combined Radix Puerariae and red yeast rice was explored. The pigment intensity, antioxidant activities and the main isoflavones of it were evaluated and compared with traditional red yeast rice and Radix Puerariae. The fermented mixture showed higher contents of isoflavones and pigment intensities than red yeast rice and Radix Puerariae. The DPPH, OH, FRAP and total antioxidant activity results of fermented mixture also showed higher antioxidant potential than those of Radix Puerariae and red yeast rice, owing to the higher pigment intensity and total phenolic contents. It is concluded that the fermented mixture of Radix Puerariae and rice could be widely used as a source of polyphenols with high antioxidative potential, thus introducing numerous health benefits for the consumer., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Ten species of filamentous fungi grown in submerged flask cultures were investigated for antioxidant capacity. Effective antioxidant activity was demonstrated in terms of β-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching, radical scavenging, reduction of metal ions and chelating abilities against ferrous ions. Different extraction methods affected antioxidant activities through their effect on biologically active compounds produced in fungal mycelia. The methanolic extract of each fungus was typically more effective in antioxidant properties. Phenolic content was established in the range of 0.44-9.33 mg/g, flavonoid contents were in the range of 0.02-3.90 mg/g and condensed tannin contents were in the range of 1.77-18.83 mg/g. Total phenol content of each extract was attributed to overall antioxidant capacity (r ⩾ 0.883-1.000). Submerged cultivation of Grifola frondosa, Monascus purpureus, Pleurotus spp., Lentinula edodes and Trametes versicolor proved to be an effective method for the production of natural antioxidants., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Lovastatin is a main component of Monascus purpureus fermented red rice contributing to the lipid-lowering effect. Citrinin is a toxic fermentation by-product which can be found as a contaminant. An accurate, simple and rapid micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatographic method was developed for the first time for simultaneous determination of lovastatin present in lactone and hydroxy acid forms and citrinin in red rice products provided by different manufacturers and formulated in various dosage forms. Separation was achieved within only 2 min using 20 mM of phosphate buffer at pH 7.0 and 30 mM of sodium dodecyl sulphate at an applied voltage of 25 kV. Sensitivity crucial for detecting citrinin was enhanced by using an extended light path capillary. The results showed that the content of lovastatin and its acid form in dietary supplements were considerably different indicating the need for improved standardization in order to ensure efficiency and safety of these products., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)