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Production and biological activities of yellow pigments from Monascus fungi

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Abstract

Monascus yellow pigments (MYPs), are azaphilone compounds and one of the three main components of total Monascus pigments (MPs). Thirty-five hydrophilic or hydrophobic MYPs have been identified, with the majority being hydrophobic. Apart from screening special Monascus strains, some advanced approaches, such as extractive and high-cell-density fermentations, have been applied for developing or producing new MYPs, especially extracellular hydrophilic MYPs. The outstanding performance of MYPs in terms of resistance to photodegradation, as well as tolerance for temperature and pH, give natural MYPs reasonable prospects, compared with the orange and red MPs, for practical use in the present and future. Meanwhile, MYPs have shown promising potential for applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries based on their described bioactivities. This review briefly summarizes the reports to date on chemical structures, biological activities, biosynthetic pathways, production technologies, and physicochemical performances of MYPs. The existing problems for MYPs are discussed and research prospects proposed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31271925), the Special Project on the Integration of Industry, Education and Research of Guangdong Province, China (No. 2013B090600015), and the Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou, China (No. 2014J4100192).

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  1. School of Bioscience and Bioengineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, People’s Republic of China

    Gong Chen & Zhenqiang Wu

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  1. Gong Chen
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  2. Zhenqiang Wu
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Correspondence to Zhenqiang Wu.

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Chen, G., Wu, Z. Production and biological activities of yellow pigments from Monascus fungi. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 32, 136 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-016-2082-8

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