Monascus spp.: A source of Natural Microbial Color through Fungal Biofermentation

Abstract

The search for naturally produced substitutes for chemical food colorants has led to a resurgence of interest in pigments synthesized by fungi such as Monascus spp. This fungus has been used in Asia for many centuries as a natural color and flavor ingredient in food and beverages. The red pigments are of particular interest, because red is the most popular food color and true natural pigments suitable for applications in food industries are difficult to obtain. As a result of recent efforts to replace synthetic food dyes with natural colorants, pigments produced by Monascus spp. have attracted worldwide attention. Monascus color, categorized as a natural color, has also been widely used as a food supplement and in traditional medicine. The major objective of this review deals with production of natural microbial color by Monascus spp. and addresses the parameters involved in fungal biofermentation. The fungal strains of Monascus spp. can be either fermented in solid state fermentation (SSF) or in submerged fermentation (SmF). SSF and SmF are two commonly used techniques during various fermentation processes. One important aspect in the development of a biofermentation process is the ability and suitability of the Monascus strain to be employed with a suitable medium.

OVAT Analysis and Response Surface Methodology Based on Nutrient Sources for Optimization of Pigment Production in the Marine-Derived Fungus Talaromyces albobiverticillius 30548 Submerged Fermentation

“…For that reason, organic and inorganic nitrogen sources were tested in combination with different carbon sources. Most fungal strains are capable of utilizing organic and inorganic nitrogen, but various research reports show that inorganic nitrogen does not influence pigment formation, but organic nitrogen promotes growth as well as pigmentation [ 98 ]. From our experiments, sodium nitrate used as an inorganic source was found unfavorable for growth, as well as pigment production in T. albobiverticillius 30548, compared to complex nitrogen sources as peptone, tryptone, or yeast extract.…”

Microbe-derived antimicrobial red pigments for color formation and microbial growth control in sausage: A mini-review

“…Monascorubramine is a red pigment produced by molds of the genus Monascus, which are considered edible microorganisms (Feng et al, 2012;Kim and Ku, 2018;Mostafa and Abbady, 2014) (Choe et al, 2020b;Manan et al, 2017). This is due to the production of citrinin, a mycotoxin, during the culture of Monascus species that is harmful to humans (Manan et al, 2017).…”

“…Monascorubramine is a red pigment produced by molds of the genus Monascus, which are considered edible microorganisms (Feng et al, 2012;Kim and Ku, 2018;Mostafa and Abbady, 2014) (Choe et al, 2020b;Manan et al, 2017). This is due to the production of citrinin, a mycotoxin, during the culture of Monascus species that is harmful to humans (Manan et al, 2017). However, some Monascus species do not produce citrinin and some of citrinin can also be effectively removed during the separation and purification processes used to isolate the Monascus pigments (Kang et al, 2014;Zhen et al, 2019).…”

Monascus purpureus’dan Katı Kültür Fermantasyon Yöntemi ile Renk Pigmenti Üretimi

“…Monascus cinsi küfler tarafından üretilen renk pigmentlerinin Doğu Asya ülkelerinde yüzyıllardır doğal renk maddesi ve geleneksel gıda katkı maddeleri olarak kullanılmaktadır. Monascus türlerinin sekonder metabolit olarak renk pigmentlerinin yanı sıra monakolinler ve γ-amino butirik asit gibi sağlığa yararlı biyoaktif bileşenleri sentezlediği ve bu bileşenlerin antimutajenik, antikanser özelliklerinin ve antimikrobiyal aktivitelerinin olduğu bilinmektedir [2][3][4]. Monascus küfleri üç ana grupta incelenen, altı adet renk pigmenti sentezleyebilmektedir.…”

“…Genelde pirinç ve ekmekten katı kültür fermantasyonu (KKF) yoluyla üretilen Monascus pigmentleri (MP), çoğunlukla Uzak Doğu ülkelerinde, fermente soya peynirinde, riboflavin kaynağı olarak bebek mamaları ve kahvaltı gevreklerinde, soslarda, enerji içeceklerinde, aromalı yoğurtlarda ve sütlerde kullanılmaktadır [3,6]. Ayrıca sosis gibi paketli ve işlenmiş et ürünlerine kırmızı renk verme ve bakteriostatik etki yaratma amacıyla sodyum nitrite alternatif olarak kullanılabilmektedir [2]. MP üretimi için geleneksel bir yöntem olan katı kültür fermantasyonu tekniği, düşük atık su üretimi, düşük enerji ve su ihtiyacı gibi avantajlara sahiptir, ayrıca gıda sanayi atıklarının substrat olarak kullanımına elverişlidir.…”