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Alcohol metabolism causes an excessive accumulation of liver lipids and inflammation, resulting in liver damage. The yellow pigments monascin (MS) and ankaflavin (AK) of Monascus purpureus -fermented rice were proven to regulate ethanol-induced damage in HepG2 cells, but the complete anti-inflammatory and anti-fatty liver mechanisms in the animal model are still unclear. This study explored the roles of MS and AK in improving alcoholic liver injury. MS and AK were simultaneously fed to evaluate their effects and mechanisms in C57BL/6J mice fed the Lieber-DeCarli liquid alcohol diet for 6 weeks. The results indicated that MS and AK significantly reduced the serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase activity, as well as the total liver cholesterol and triglyceride levels. The histopathological results indicated that MS and AK prevented lipid accumulation in the liver. MS and AK effectively enhanced the activity of antioxidant enzymes and reduced the degree of lipid peroxidation; AK was particularly effective and exhibited a superior preventive effect against alcoholic liver injury and fatty liver. In addition to inhibiting the phosphorylation of the MAPK family, MS and AK directly reduced TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β levels, thereby reducing NF-κB and its downstream iNOS and COX-2 expressions, as well as increasing PPAR-γ, Nrf-2, and HO-1 expressions to prevent liver damage. MS and AK also directly reduced TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β expression, thereby reducing the production of NF-κB and its downstream iNOS and COX-2, and increasing PPAR-γ, Nrf-2, and HO-1 expressions, preventing alcohol damage to the liver.

Background/purposes: Monascin (MS) and ankaflavin (AK) produced by Monascus purpureus NTU 568 were proven to show excellent hypolipidemic effects in our previous studies; however, the mechanism is still unclear., Methods: This study used MS, AK, and monacolin K as test substances and performed tests on rats fed high-fat and high-cholesterol diet for 8 weeks. The lipid levels and the related protein levels of the rats were assessed to understand the effects of MS, AK, and monacolin K on lipid metabolism., Results: MS and AK lowered low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and preserved high-density lipoprotein cholesterol contents. MS and AK inhibited acetyl-coenzyme A acetyltransferase, microsomal triglyceride transfer protein, and apolipoprotein (apo) B-100 expression, thereby preventing LDL assembly. In addition, enhanced LDL-receptor expression increased the transport of LDL-C to the liver for metabolism. MS and AK also significantly increase apo A1 expression, which facilitates high-density lipoprotein cholesterol formation., Conclusion: Monascus-fermented MS and AK can perform blood lipid regulation via the suppression of LDL-C assembly and stimulation of apo A1 expression in liver., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Deep ocean water (DOW) obtained from a depth of more than 200 m includes abundant nutrients and minerals. DOW was proven to positively increase monascin (MS) and ankaflavin (AK) production and the anti-adipogenesis effect of Monascus-fermented red mold dioscorea (RMD). However, the influences that the major metals in DOW have on Monascus secondary metabolite biosynthesis and anti-adipogenesis remain unknown. Therefore, the major metals in DOW were used as the culture water to produce RMD. The secondary metabolites production and anti-adipogenesis effect of RMD cultured with various individual metal waters were investigated. In the results, the addition of water with Mg, Ca, Zn, and Fe increased MS and AK production and inhibited mycotoxin citrinin (CT). However, the positive influence may be contributed to the regulation of pigment biosynthesis. Furthermore, in the results of cell testing, higher lipogenesis inhibition was seen in the treatments of various ethanol extracts of RMD cultured with water containing Mg, K, Zn, and Fe than in those of RMD cultured with ultra-pure water. In conclusion, various individual metals resulted in different effects on MS and AK productions as well as the anti-adipogenesis effect of RMD, but the specific metals contained in DOW may cause synergistic or comprehensive effects that increase the significantly positive influence.

Deep ocean water (DOW) has, in previous studies, been found to be a novel anti-obesity drink and useful in raising Monascus-produced monascin and ankaflavin levels. This may resolve the limited anti-obesity ability of red mold dioscorea (RMD) known as the Monascus purpureus-fermented Disocorea batatas. This study aims to compare the anti-obesity effect of DOW-cultured RMD (DOW-RMD) and ultra-pure water-cultured RMD (UPW-RMD) in rats fed on a high fat diet. Moreover, the effect of ions composition of DOW and DOW-influenced functional metabolites change of RMD on the differentiation and lipogenesis regulation were investigated using 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes. In the animal test, compared to UPW-RMD, DOW-RMD possessed better ability to inhibit increases in weight gain, and better feed efficiency, body-fat pad and cross-sectional area of adipocytes. In the cell test, the anti-obesity abilities of DOW-RMD in inhibiting PPARγ and C/EBPα expression in differentiation and lipoprotein lipase activity in lipogenesis were contributed to by the DOW-increased monascin and ankaflavin levels and the ions of DOW, respectively.

Monascus-fermented monascin and ankaflavin are found to strongly inhibit differentiation and lipogenesis and stimulate lipolysis effects in a 3T3-L1 preadipocyte model, but the in vivo regulation mechanism is unclear. This study uses obese rats caused by a high-fat diet to examine the effects of daily monascin and ankaflavin feeding (8 weeks) on antiobesity effects and modulation of differentiation, lipogenesis, and lipid absorption. The results show that monascin and ankaflavin had a significant antiobesity effect, which should result from the modulation of monascin and ankaflavin on the inhibition of differentiation by inhibiting CCAT/enhancer-binding protein β (C/EBPβ) expression (36.4% and 48.3%) and its downstream peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) (55.6% and 64.5%) and CCAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα) expressions (25.2% and 33.2%) and the inhibition of lipogenesis by increasing lipase activity (14.0% and 10.7%) and decreasing heparin releasable lipoprotein lipase (HR-LPL) activity (34.8% and 30.5%). Furthermore, monascin and ankaflavin are the first agents found to suppress Niemann-Pick C1 Like 1 (NPC1L1) protein expression (73.6% and 26.1%) associated with small intestine tissue lipid absorption. Importantly, monascin and ankaflavin are not like monacolin K, which increases creatine phosphokinase (CPK) activity, known as a rhabdomyolysis indicator.

Red mold rice (RMR) is a traditional food and folk medicine to Asian people and has recently become a popular health supplement. RMR has been shown to have some anticancer activities, although the mechanism for inducing cell death of human breast cancer cells is still not fully understood. In this study, bioactive extracts of RMR fermented by Monascus purpureus NTU 803 were analyzed for effects on apoptosis induction in human breast cancer cells. The RMR ethanol extract and ethyl acetate extract contain monacolin K, total phenols, and flavonoids, the three components that have been reported to have anticancer activity. Red mold rice extracts (RMRE) exhibited selective cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 cells. RMRE treatment induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase. Apoptosis was confirmed by annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)/propidium iodide staining, the observation of characteristic chromatin condensation, nuclear DNA fragmentation, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage. Furthermore, the RMRE-induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells may occur through a mitochondria-dependent pathway while triggering an appropriate balance of bax/bcl-2 and activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 in a time-dependent manner. To conclude, RMRE exhibits direct cytotoxic and proapoptotic effects on MCF-7 cells and could be considered as a potential functional food for breast cancer prevention.

Monascus species has been used as the traditional food fungus in Eastern Asia for several centuries. Monascus-fermented products are gradually developed as the popular functional food for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, but we know that culture condition affects the hypolipidemic effect of Monascus-fermented product. In the past, the cholesterol-lowering agent--monacolin K--is regarded as the most important hypolipidemic agent. Two natural yellow pigments--monascin and ankaflavin--are also proven as novel hypolipidemic agents in recent years. However, the hypolipidemic effect of Monascus-fermented product should contribute from monacolin K, monascin, ankaflavin, and other unknown functional ingredients. In addition to hypolipidemic effect, the safety concern of Monascus-fermented product is involved in the levels of mycotoxin--citrinin. The hypolipidemic effect and the production of these functional metabolites or mycotoxin are influenced by many factors such as the choice of culture substrates, carbon and nitrogen source, pH value, extra nutrients, and so on. Therefore, this review focused on the effect of various culture conditions and nutrients on the functional metabolites production, hypolipidemic effect as well as citrinin concentration, and further organized the fermentation technologies used by previous studies for the promotion of hypolipidemic effect and safety.

Red mold dioscorea (RMD) produced by Monascus sp. was proven to be a hypolipidemic functional food. Deep ocean water (DOW), that is, water obtained from over 200 m deep in the ocean, was found to promote the growth of fungus via its mineral richness. On the basis of the advantages, this study used 650 m DOW as the culture water to culture Monascus purpuresus NTU 568 and produce the DOW-RMD. The goal of this study is to compare the difference between DOW-RMD and reverse osmosis water-cultured RMD (ROW-RMD) on the hypolipidemic effect. Hyperlipidemic hamsters were fed a high-cholesterol diet and administered various doses of DOW-RMD or ROW-RMD for 8 weeks. After sacrifice, biochemical analyses in serum, liver, and feces were carried out. The results showed that DOW-RMD had a greater effect on lowering cholesterol levels and lipid peroxidation in serum and lipid plaque in heart aorta than ROW-RMD. However, DOW was likely to modulate the Monascus metabolite biosynthesis pathway toward the formation of hypolipidemic yellow pigments (such as monascin and ankaflavin) rather than red pigments and the mycotoxin citrinin. In addition, the DOW with higher Mg(2+) ion was proven to absorb into DOW-RMD; however, the accumulation of Mg(2+) ions should contribute a greater hypolipidemic effect to DOW-RMD. Comprehensively, the DOW-induced metabolism modulation and the ions of DOW were a benefit to the development of safe DOW-RMD with low citrinin levels and high hypolipidemic, antiatherosclerosis, and anti-fatty liver effects.

Alzheimer's disease is seen mainly in individuals over the age of 65, and the morbidity rate increases with age. Regarding the health function of Monascus-fermented red mold rice (RMR), besides hypolipidemic and hypotensive effects, other health functions of RMR such as anti-oxidation, cancer prevention, anti-fatigue, and anti-obesity have also been reported. Many published studies have shown the efficacy of RMR in the prevention of Alzheimer's disease. The current article discusses and provides evidence to support the beneficial potential of RMR in the prevention of Alzheimer's disease by discussing the pathogenic factors of Alzheimer's disease and the secondary metabolites of Monascus.

The Monascus fermentation product red mold rice (RMR) has been found to contain the cholesterol-lowering agent monacolin K (MK) in both its lactone (MKL) and acid (MKA) forms and the mycotoxin citrinin (CT). The yellow pigments in RMR, namely, monascin (MS) and ankaflavin (AK), have been reported to exhibit antimetastatic and antiangiogenic activities. Currently, MK and these yellow pigments are usually detected in RMR by different analytical methods that are inconvenient, expensive, and time-consuming. The goal of this study was to establish a rapid, synchronous analytical method for determination of the MKA, MKL, MS, AK, and CT levels in RMR. MKA, MKL, MS, AK, and CT were extracted by the same extraction method, then separated by RP-HPLC with a C18 column. The effluent from the column was passed through a photodiode array detector and then introduced directly into a fluorescence detector. The results showed that high recovery rates of MKA, MKL, MS, AK, and CT are possible if RMR powder is extracted with 75% ethanol (10 mL) at 80 degrees C for 30 min. With regard to the optimal conditions of the HPLC, the peaks of MKA, MKL, MS, AK, and CT can be clearly separated from any noise peaks by isocratic elution with a mobile phase comprising 0.05% trifluoroacetic acid in acetonitrile-water (62.5 + 37.5, v/v).

Monascus is one of the traditional fermentation fungi and has been used in many kinds of food for thousands of years. Although Monascus-fermented red mold rice performs cholesterol-lowering effects, blood pressure-lowing effects, and antioxidant effects, another metabolite, nephrotoxic and hepatotoxic citrinin, causes the concerns for safety. Various citrinin concentrations (1, 2, 10, 20, and 200 ppm) in the red mold rice are, respectively, estimated for safe use in animal tests. According to the results of serum biochemistry assays of liver and kidney in each group, citrinin did not reveal any nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity. Furthermore, the results of histopathological slices of liver and kidney in each group did not show any significant differences from control histopathological findings. As a result, we presume that citrinin concentrations in Monascus-fermented products within 200 ppm will not affect the functions of liver and kidney or cause any nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity. According to safety factor, it is proposed that 2 ppm citrinin in Monascus-fermented products may be a safe concentration.

The aim of this study is to investigate the antihypertensive effects of red mold rice (RMR) and red mold dioscorea (RMD) by low-dose oral administration to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). A single oral dose of 1-fold RMD (150 mg/kg) significantly (p < 0.05) decreased systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) after 8 h of administration, but RMR showed no significant effect. During the chronic oral administration of 1-fold RMR (150 mg/kg), 0.5-fold RMD, 1-fold RMD, and 5-fold RMD to SHRs for 8 weeks, the increase of blood pressure was slowed significantly. The results indicated that only a 0.5-fold dose of RMD was able to significantly decrease both SBP and DBP. A 1-fold RMD showed a greater antihypertensive effect than 1-fold RMR, and both RMR and RMD can improve the vascular elastin structure remodeling. In comparison to RMR, RMD contained a higher amount of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and anti-inflammatory yellow pigments (monascin and ankaflavin). Moreover, RMD also exhibited higher angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity than RMR. These results suggest that RMD has greater antihypertensive bioavailability.

Nowadays, people have recognized the importance of Monascus fermented products due to their many health benefits. A previous study demonstrated a novel formulation approach for the preparation of nanoparticulate red mold rice (NRMR). The aim of this study is to determine the useability of stable NRMR dispersion by evaluating its safety and mutagenicity with the Ames test. The crude red mold rice (RMR) was processed using a wet milling technology in the presence of distilled water to form an aqueous-based nanoparticle dispersion with a mean particle size of 259.3 nm. The formulated diepersion was found to be homogeneous and exhibited unimodal particle size distribution when analyzed by dynamic laser scattering techniques. Ames test results indicated that the equivalent of up to 1 mg of ethanol extract of RMR per plate exhibited no genotoxicity toward Salmonella typhimurium strains TA 98, TA 100, and TA 102. In the feeding toxicity test, the no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) of NRMR was found to be 1000 mg/kg/day for both male and female rats. In conclusion, red mold rice can be formulated as a stable nanoparticulate dispersion using wet milling technology. In vitro and in vivo safety evaluations of NRMR indicated that no mutagenic or toxic responses were observed in this study.

Monascus species-fermented red mold rice (RMR) has been regarded as a popular hypolipidemic functional food because it contains monacolin K, an inhibitor of de novo cholesterol synthesis. However, the safety of RMR is always an issue because citrinin is present in RMR and is reported to be hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic. The present study was therefore to develop a postprocess to remove citrinin yet retain monacoln K in the RMR preparation. We found that phosphate-ethanol extraction was effective for the removal citrinin, yet it could retain monacolin K, because the former was more hydrophilic than the latter in phosphate-ethanol solution. Ethanol, phosphate, and extraction time were optimized as factors of response surface methodology (RSM). It was found that the optimal RSM condition was 45% ethanol, 1.5% phosphate, and extraction for 70 min. Under this optimal condition, 91.6% citrinin was removed and 79.5% monacolin K was retained in the final RMR.

Monascus-fermented red mold dioscorea (RMD) was proven to produce higher monacolin K levels than red mold rice (RMR) in our previous study. The goal of this study is to investigate whether the novel RMD had more hypolipidemic and antiatherosclerotic effect than traditional red mold rice. The daily dose of RMR for adults was recommended as 1 g, which corresponded to 96 mg/kg/day for hamsters. Therefore, high cholesterol diet-induced hyperlipidemic hamsters were daily administrated with a 0.5-fold (48 mg/kg/day), a 1-fold (96 mg/kg/day), or a 5-fold dose (480 mg/kg/day) of RMD for 8 weeks. Furthermore, a 1-fold dose of RMR (96 mg/kg/day) and unfermented dioscorea (96 mg/kg/day) were also respectively used to evaluate the effect of hypolipidemic and antiarteriosclerosis. The results indicated that only needing a 0.5-fold dose of RMD was able to significantly lower total cholesterol (by 13.78%, p<0.001), triglyceride (by 38.74%, p<0.01), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (by 43.11%, p<0.05) as well as maintain a high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, as compared to the hyperlipidemic group. RMD including a higher monacolin K level and a dioscorea substrate was able to exhibit a more significant difference in the hypolipidemic effect than RMR or unfermented dioscorea. Both RMR and dioscorea exhibited potent in vitro antioxidative ability and in vivo protection against hypolipidemia-induced oxidative stress. Therefore, the antioxidative ability of RMD provided by Monascus metabolites (dimerumic acid, tannin, phenol, etc.) as well as dioscorea was able to perform more antiatherosclerotic effects on increasing total antioxidant status, catalase, and superoxide dismutase activity and repressing lipid peroxidation and atherosclerotic plaque than RMR and dioscorea.

Using dioscorea root as substrate of Monascus species was found to stimulate monacolin K (cholesterol-lowering agent) formation in our previous study, but the mycotoxin-citrinin has never been studied. This study used dioscorea root as the liquid medium to culture Monascus purpureus NTU 568 using a 6.6 L jar fermentor. Culture pH value, dioscorea concentration, and ethanol concentration were used as the factors of response surface methodology (RSM) to investigate the optimal culture condition for high monacolin K production and low citrinin formation. Monacolin K and citrinin formation of M. purpureus NTU 568 under submerged dioscorea medium were respectively found to be significantly formed by 148% and 147%, as compared to that under submerged rice medium. The reason is due to the pH value (3.5) of dioscorea medium involved in the formation of Monascus cell amount and secondary metabolite. RSM results further indicated that lowering the pH value to 2.5 would result in high monacolin K and citrinin concentrations as well as high biomass in fixed dioscorea amount, implying that pH value may stimulate the formation of monacolin K and citrinin through increasing Monascus cell amount. Lowering dioscorea and ethanol concentration was able to increase the ratio of monacolin K level to citrinin level. The optimal culture condition (pH 5.7, 1% dioscorea concentration, and 0.5% ethanol concentration) would increase monacolin K levels to 27.9 mg/g (by 47%) and decrease citrinin level to 2.15 microg/g (by 54%), as compared to control conditions (pH 3.5, 5% dioscorea, and ethanol free).

Monacolin K, an inhibitor for cholesterol synthesis, is the secondary metabolite of Monascus species. The formation of the secondary metabolites of the Monascus species is affected by cultivation environment and method. This research uses sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), potato (Solanum tuberosum), casava (Manihot esculenta), and dioscorea (Dioscorea batatas) as the substrates and discusses the best substrate to produce monacolin K. The results show that Monascus purpureus NTU 301, with dioscorea as the substrate, can produce monacolin K at 2,584 mg kg(-1), which is 5.37 times to that resulted when rice is used as the substrate. In addition, more amount of yellow pigment can be found in Monascus-fermented dioscorea than in Monascus-fermented rice. The certain composition of yellow pigment is identified as monascin, which has been shown as an antiinflammation agent exhibiting potent inhibitory effects on 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced inflammation in mice in previous studies. Therefore, dioscorea is concluded to be the best substrate for Monascus species to produce the cholesterol-lowering agent-monacolin K and antiinflammation agent-monascin.

Monascus has been used for thousands of years. In China, Monascus has been widely used as a natural food-coloring agent for many kinds of foods. The metabolites of Monascus species, specifically, monacolin K, gamma-aminobutyric acid, and dimerumic acid, have been proven to have cholesterol-lowering, blood pressure-lowering, and antioxidant effects. Nowadays, the public has recognized the importance of Monascus products for its many health benefits. The focus of this study is to explore the effects of nanoparticulate dispersion of red mold rice (RMR) after wet-milling technology treatment. An RMR nanoparticulate formulation was reproducibly obtained after milling in the presence of dispersing agent and water. Furthermore, the physical and chemical properties of these RMR particles were studied using electron microscopy, laser light scattering, pH meter, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and photometry. The results demonstrate that RMR (mean size = 20.15 microm), processed with wet-milling technology, forms an aqueous-based nanoparticle dispersion (mean particle size of less than 0.41 microm). In addition, HPLC analyses, performed on the secondary metabolites, demonstrated that monacolin K was reduced to 50-92% of its base level and citrinin was reduced to 48-74% of its base level. When testing for the levels of pH, the processed RMR had increased from a pH level of 4.47-4.82 to 5.56-6.4; also, pigment analysis showed that yellow and red pigments were reduced to 36 and 39% of its base level after the wet-milling process. Partial agglomeration has been observed in RMR dispersion when stored in refrigeration after 2 months. RMR can be formulated as a nanoparticulate dispersion without compromising its stability, but its secondary metabolite extraction rate was changed. Further experimentation will be needed to verify safety and functionality evaluations.

The Monascus product known as red mold rice (RMR) has been found to contain the cholesterol-lowering agent monacolin K (MK), including the lactone form (MKL) and the acid form (MKA) and mycotoxin citrinin (CT). In current studies, CT and MK are usually detected by different analysis methods, which have a high level of error, and are inconvenient, expensive, and time-consuming. The goal of this study is to establish a rapid synchronous analysis method for the detection of CT, MKL, and MKA levels in RMR. In this study, CT, MKL, and MKA are extracted by the same extraction method and are then separated in a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) C18 column. The elution from the C18 column is then passed through an ultraviolet detector and introduced directly into the fluorescence detector. The results show that higher recovery rates of CT, MKL, and MLK are yielded from RMR powder by extracting with 95% ethanol (10 mL) at 60 degrees C for 30 min. Regarding the optimal conditions of HPLC, the peaks of CT, MKL, and MKA can be clearly separated from any noise peaks by isocratic elution with optimum mobile phase, acetonitrile-water-trifluoroacetate (55 + 45 + 0.05, v/v).

Monascus or more commonly known as red mold rice is fermented rice on which Monascus purpureus has been grown. It has been a traditional Chinese food additive for thousands of years in China. Secondary metabolite product of Monascus, monacolin K, has been proven that it could be used as an antihypercholesterolemic agent. In this study, M. purpureus NTU568 mutated and selected from a monacolin K productivity strain-M. purpureus HM105 produced high quantities of monacolin K at a level of 9,500 mg kg(-1). This research focused on the effect of adding red mold rice powder of M. purpureus NTU568 to a hamster diet on total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). In the results, the oral administration of Monascus powder in hyperlipidemia hamster was indeed proven to decrease TC, TG, and LDL-C levels. Plasma TC levels in hamster fed with Monascus powder at one-fold dosage [10.78 mg (day 100 g bw)(-1)] for 4 and 8 weeks were significantly lower (31.2 and 22.0%, respectively) than that in hyperlipidemia hamster. Plasma TG (30.1 and 17.9%) and LDL-C levels (36.0 and 20.7%) were also significantly lowered by feeding Monascus powder at one-fold dosage for 4 and 8 weeks compared to hyperlipidemia hamster. In addition, examinations of liver TC and TG levels of hyperlipidemia hamster were also performed and showed similar effects on lipid-lowering action by oral administration of Monascus powder. Since citrinin is a mycotoxin that possesses nephrotoxic and hepatoxic effects, it has a negative impact on the safety of red mold rice for people. This study examined the liver somatic index [plasma glutamyl oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamyl pyruvic transaminase (GPT) levels] and liver biopsy to investigate whether Monascus powder induced damage in liver. It was found that the plasma GOT and GPT levels were not significantly increased by feeding Monascus powder. There was no difference in the results of the liver biopsy between the Monascus powder-treated groups and the control group.

This study evaluated the effect of red mold rice supplementation on antifatigue and exercise-related changes in lipid peroxidation of male adult Wistar rats through swimming exercise. Thirty 16-week-old rats were studied by dividing them into three groups (ten for each group). Other than the control group (CD), the other two groups were divided into a high-dose (HD) treatment group (5 g red mold rice/kg body weight for the HD group), and a low-dose (LD) group (1 g red mold rice/kg body weight for the LD group). Swimming endurance tests were conducted after 28 days of red mold rice supplementation, and the result showed that the treatment group showed a higher exercise time (CD, 78.0+/-6.4; LD, 104.2+/-9.6; and HD, 129.4+/-10.9 min; p<0.05) and a higher blood glucose concentration (CD, 76.67+/-8.08; LD, 111.34+/-8.50; and HD, 117.67+/-11.06 mg/dl; p<0.05) than the CD. Moreover, the blood lactate (CD, 45.00+/-0.90; LD, 31.41+/-1.80; and HD, 28.89+/-1.62 mg/dl; p<0.05), blood urea nitrogen (CD, 21.87+/-0.75; LD, 20.33+/-0.83; and HD, 20.53+/-1.09 mg/dl; p<0.05), and hemoglobin (CD, 14.20+/-0.21; LD, 13.70+/-0.55; and HD, 13.28+/-0.35 g/dl; p<0.05) were also significantly lower than those of the CD. Besides, the result suggested that the red mold rice supplementation may decrease the contribution of exercise-induced oxidative stress and improve the physiological condition of the rats.

[Display omitted] • MS and AK inhibited Aβ40-induced neurotoxicity in the in vitro and in vivo studies. • MS and AK inhibited Aβ40-induced pro-inflammatory factors expressions. • MS and AK inhibited Aβ40-induced neurotoxicity by antioxidative effects. • MS and AK have more neuroprotection than donepezil. Monascus purpureu s-produced monascin (MS) and ankaflavin (AK) have the potential to improve memory deficiency in Alzheimer's disease rat models; however, the mechanisms are still unclear. We aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of MS and AK on preventing Aβ40-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory response through in vitro and in vivo studies. Aβ40-treated PC-12 cells and intracerebroventricularly Aβ40-infused rats were used as the in vitro and in vivo models, respectively. MS and AK enhanced cell viability in Aβ40-treated PC-12 cells. Furthermore, the expression levels of oxidative and inflammatory factors, including COX-2, IL-1β, IL-6, iNOS, NF-κB, and TNF-α, were repressed by MS and AK treatment in the in vitro and in vivo models. The anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects were the probable reasons for repressing Aβ40-induced p-tau protein expression, Aβ fibrils formation, neurotoxicity, and memory deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) deposition in the brain damages neurons and eventually results in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and which can be aggravated by cholesterol and high-fat diets. Monascus purpureus -fermented product was proven to prevent AD development. However, the functional compound and mechanism are still unclear. Monascin (MS) and ankaflavin (AK) produced by M. purpureus exhibit antiinflammatory, antioxidative, and hypolipidaemic effects. In this study, serious AD model rats induced by high fat diet and continuous intracerebroventricular (icv) infusion with Aβ40 for 28 days were used to investigate the alleviating and prophylactic effects of MS and AK on the memory and learning abilities, as well as the AD risk factor levels. The results show that feeding MS and AK to AD-induced rats improved their performance ( p   <  0.05) in both the reference memory and working memory tests. Finally, MS and AK reduced the protein levels of p -tau, apolipoprotein E (apo E) and beta-site amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme (BACE) in the hippocampi and cortex. Moreover, the accumulation of Aβ40 was decreased, and the expression of soluble amyloid precursor protein α (sAPPα), which serves as a protection factor of nerve cells, was increased. Therefore, MS and AK can improve the memory and learning ability in Aβ40 icv infused rat via the suppression of AD risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Red mold rice has the effect of inhibiting platelet coagulation. [•] Red mold rice has the effect of lowering the fibrinogen content in the blood. [•] Red mold rice has the effect of increasing the antithrombin III content in the blood. [•] Red mold rice has the effect of increasing the protein C content in the blood. [•] Red mold rice has the effect of reducing lipid plaque in aorta. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• DMA and DFC prevented alcoholic hepatitis. • DMA and DFC suppressed alcohol-induced inflammation signalling pathways. • DMA and DFC stimulated of AMPK-mediated lipid metabolism in liver. Ethanol metabolism causes oxidative stress, inflammation, and then results in steatosis and liver injury. Monascus -fermented products and its secondary metabolites perform liver protection by anti-inflammation, anti-oxidatiion and protecting the liver. In this study, dimerumic acid and deferricoprogen produced by Monascus purpureus were first to investigate the protection against alcoholic liver disease. C57BL/6J mice were fed Lieber-DeCarli liquid ethanol diet and orally given dimerumic acid and deferricoprogen daily for 6 weeks. The mechanisms involved in antioxidative system, anti-inflammatory, and lipid modulation were investigated. The results showed that dimerumic acid and deferricoprogen performed liver protection against ethanol-diet. The two compounds increased anti-oxidative enzymes activities (catalase, SOD, and GPx), suppressed pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, NF-κB, iNOS, and COX-2) via upregulating PPAR-γ and Nrf-2 pathway and inhibiting p-ERK1/2, and modulated lipid metabolism by upregulating AMPK and PPAR-α pathway. Therefore, dimerumic acid and deferricoprogen were both high potential hepatoprotective compounds produced by Monascus purpureus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]