Monacolin K production by citrinin‐free Monascus pilosus MS‐1 and fermentation process monitoring |
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| Authors: | Yanli Feng Yanchun Shao Youxiang Zhou Fusheng Chen |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Key Laboratory of Environment Correlative Dietology, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, P. R. China;2. College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, P. R. China;3. Institute of Quality Standard and Testing Technology for Agro‐Products, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei Province, P. R. China |
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| Abstract: | Monacolin K (MK) is a naturally occurring hypocholesterolemic agent that specifically inhibits HMG‐CoA reductase. As a natural source of MK, Monascus‐fermented products are of special interest; however, some Monascus strains could produce citrinin, which is a nephrotoxin, as a contaminant in Monascus‐derived products. A Monascus pilosus strain (MS‐1) that produces high amounts of MK, but no citrinin, was screened in previous investigations. Herein, liquid‐state fermentation parameters of the MS‐1 strain were optimized using statistical methods to maximize the MK yield with potato juice as a basic medium. The maximum MK yield (326.74 μg/mL) was predicted with 50 mL of medium in a 250‐mL conical flask containing 30 g/L sucrose, 38.75 g/L soybean flour, 0.00105 mol/L Mg2+ at pH 5.48, and 8% v/v seed inoculum precultured for 42 h at 30°C, incubated at 30°C for 3 days, followed by further incubation for 11 days at 24.7°C. The verified MK yield was 390.68 μg/mL and the MK yield increased to 565.64 μg/mL after 21 days of fermentation. No citrinin was detected in MS‐1‐fermented products. The results suggest that citrinin‐free MK can be obtained from natural medium through liquid‐state fermentation in an economical way. This method will be of practical value to the industrial production of MK. |
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| Keywords: | Hypocholesterolemic agents Liquid‐state fermentation Mycotoxin contamination Pharmaceutical process monitoring Response surface methodology |
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