Physicochemical characteristics and production of whole soymilk from Monascus fermented soybeans

Monascus fermented soybeans (MFS) were prepared by solid state fermentation. MFS showed higher solubility than the unfermented control within the acidic pH region but showed the opposite trend at pH 7 and 9. Although the emulsifying activity index of MFS was lower than that of the control, MFS had significantly higher emulsion stability at pH 7 and 9. Significant protein hydrolysis took place during fermentation, and the proportion of peak area less than 1.35 kDa was greatly increased in MFS. Whole soymilk prepared from MFS contained monacolin K (475 μg/g), and was enriched in isoflavone aglycones. Neither homogenisation nor pasteurisation caused significant changes in the isoflavone and monacolin K contents of the Monascus fermented soymilk. Total phenol content and ABTS radical scavenging activity were significantly higher in the Monascus fermented soymilk than in the control soymilk.