Recent research and development of Monascus fermentation products

Monascus fermentation products (MFPs) have been widely used by people mainly in Asian countries for many centuries as food colorant, preservative, food supplement and traditional medicine. With the cultivation of different strains of Monascus and fermentation in various substrates, MFPs are now widely available and are becoming popular worldwide. This review mainly introduces recent advances in research, technological development, production and application of Monascus. In recent years, the Monascus industry have progressed from the traditional, labored intensive and time consuming approach to more efficient production of Monascus products that allows the industry to overcome problems of space, scale-up and process control. Many studies on the molecular biology of Monascus are progressing gradually, providing us with more information and knowledge to enable us to explore the Monascus for designing novel functional foods as well as industrial applications. The production of natural Monascus dyes provides a platform for further improvement or related products, among which Monascus red pigments is the most promising product while Monascus yellow pigment has also gained a rapid development recently. To find a functional MFPs and an economic alternative to produce MFPs, research groups, mainly in Asia, develop non-rice MFPs i.e. Monascus-fermented soybean (MFS), Monascus-fermented adlay (MFA), Monascus-fermented dioscorea (MFD) and other new MFPs such as Monascus-fermented garlic, Monascus-fermented ginseng and Monascus-fermented durian seed. The physiological active components of functional Monascus products such as lovastatin and polysaccharides have become an important part of the Monascus industry. The “esterifying Monascus products” has been applied as a new biocatalyst which can be widely used in the Chinese spirits and soy sauce brewing. As with any industry, the safety and regulations on MFPs are also important to ensure its applications in foods and medicine are well accepted by the public.