Syed | Production and applications of natural food colorant from the fungal genus-Monuscus 178 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN PHARMACY MEDICINE AND BIOALLIED SCIENCES An International, Multi-Disciplinary, Peer-Reviewed, Open Access, Indexed, Triannually Published Journal |www.biomedjournal.com| Production and applications of natural food colorant from the fungal genus- Monuscus Mahin Basha Syed* Biochemical Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar– 608 002, Tamil Nadu, India. REVIEW ARTICLE ABSTRACT ARTICLE INFORMATION Monascus pigments of yellow, orange, and red pigments have traditionally been used as a natural food colorant for centuries. It has many bioactive Article history Received: 10 November 2014 compounds being discovered, which includes active drug compounds, Revised: 10 December 2014 monacolins, which reduces serum cholesterol level. Mycotoxin, citrinin, is Accepted: 12 December 2014 Early view: 15 December 2014 also produced along with the Monascus secondary metabolites by certain strains or under certain cultivation conditions. The major objective of this *Author for correspondence E-mail: [email protected] review deals with production of biopigments and addresses on the Tel/Mobile: 0000000000 compounds with bioactive functions. Current advances in avoiding the harmful ingredient citrinin are also discussed. Q R Keywords: Pigments, citrinin, Monuscus purpureus, nutraceuticals and C mevinolin o d e Biomedjournal © Copyright 2013, All rights reserved. Biomedjournal Privacy Policy. INTRODUCTION Japan, was mentioned in ancient Chinese pharmacopoeia, most of the natural dyes are extracts from plants, plant The historical use of natural colorants was taken over by products or produced by microorganisms, which provides chemically synthesized colors in the late 19th century, production advantages over artificial colorants. Since the and continued in the form of the coal-tar dyes of the number of permitted synthetic colorants has decreased 20th century. This development was primarily governed because of undesirable toxic effects, including by easier and more economical synthesis, as well as mutagenicity and potential carcinogenicity, interest superior coloring properties of chemically synthesized focuses on the development of food pigments from colors (Mapari et al., 2010). Color and flavor are the natural sources (Vidyalakshmi et al., 2009). Though many signals that are immediately perceived by the optical and natural colors are available, microbial colorants play a chemical senses of humans and these attributes significant role as a food coloring agent, because of its determine whether a certain food is appealing. Attractive flexibility in production and ease downstream processing. food colors and flavors are usually translated into Among the various pigment producing microorganisms, increased consumption, which is a fundamental Monascus was reported to produce non-toxic pigments, behavioral response. However, color and flavors are often which can be used as a food colorant. The pigment of sensitive to heat, oxygen, light, acid and thus changed or Monascus improves the coloring appearance of foods and lost during processing and storage. Natural colorants and their organoleptic characters. Recent increasing concern flavors mainly derived from plants and chemosynthetic about the use of edible coloring agents has banned compounds are used by the food industry to replenish and various synthetic coloring agents, due to potential health sometimes raise the genuine stock (Pandey et al., 2001). hazards (Fabre et al., 1993); this increased the demands Rice fermented with red Monascus purpureus, ang-khak, for highly edible coloring agents, one of which is the hong qu or koji in China, ang-khak, beni koji, red koji in Monascus pigment (Francis, 1987). Monascus pigments Int J Adv Pharmacy Med Bioallied Sci. 2, 3, 2014. www.biomedjournal.com Syed | Production and applications of natural food colorant from the fungal genus-Monuscus 179 have been a long established food ingredient for Asian ruber. The active strains belonged to M. ruber, M. consumers, it is still forbidden in Europe and America. purpureus, M. pilosus, M. vitreus and M. pubigerus. However, there are a number of patents registered in According to the new taxonomy of this genus recent years in Japan, the United States, France, and (Hawksworth and Pit’s, 1983), M. vitreus and M. Germany report the import and using of Monascus pubigerus belong to M. ruber and M. pilosus, pigments as a food colorant. Monuscus rice products are respectively. All mevinolin-producing strains were gaining importance as a dietary supplement in the United inferior in red pigment formation. States and many Asian countries, due to its anti- Strain improvement of wild Monascus strains by UV light, cholesterol activity (Silveira et al., 2008). neutron, or X-rays, mutation using MNNG or combinations Monascus is known to produce at least six molecular of these methods can result in mutants with structures of pigment which can be classified into three advantageous properties (rapid growth, superior pigment groups depending on their color. They include yellow production, elimination of ascospore formation) or albino pigments monascin (C21H26O5) and ankaflavin (C23H30O5), mutants (Lin and Suen, 1973; Wong and Ban, 1978; Wong the orange pigments monascorubrin (C23H26O5) and and Koehler, 1981). The latter strains can be reverted rubropunctatin (C21H22O5), and the red pigments into pigment producers by further UV irradiation (Wong monascorubramine (C23H27NO4) and rubropuntamine and Ban, 1978). Lin and Iizuka, (1982) prepared a (C21H23NO4) (Pattanagul et al., 2007; Kim et al., 2006). Monascus strain which produced mainly extracellular Monascus pigments are a group of fungal metabolites pigments by a series of mutations induced by chemical called azaphilones, which are synthesized from and physical mutagens. Yongsmith et al. (1994, 2000) polyketide chromophores and β-keto acids by obtained a mutant of a Monascus species which produced esterification. The orange pigments, monascorubrin, and a high concentration of yellow pigments instead of the rubropunctatin are synthesized in the cytosol from acetyl red pigments formed by its parent strains. coenzyme A by the multienzyme complex of polyketide synthase I (Hopwood and Sherman, 1990; Robinson, APPLICATIONS OF PIGMENTS IN MAJOR INDUSTRIES 1991). These compounds possess a unique structure responsible for their high affinity to compounds with Applications in food industry primary amino groups (so called aminophiles). Reactions Monascus compounds have applications in with amino acids lead to formations of water soluble red pharmaceuticals and in food additives (Kraiak et al., pigments, monascorubramine, and rubropunctamine. The 2000). The red pigment has been of increasing interest to mechanism of yellow pigment formations is not yet clear; the food industry as food colorant because Monuscus although some authors consider that these products are products are extracellular and water soluble making them of the alteration of orange pigments, as others believe it easy to use. Applications include the increased red to be pigments with their own metabolic pathway coloring in meat, fish, and ketchup (Hamano and Kilikian, (Carvalho et al., 2003). The red pigment has been of 2006). It can also be used in traditional foods to replace increasing interest to the food industry because products nitrate or nitrite for quality improvement. This are extra cellular and water soluble making them easy to fermented mass, known as ang-khak, is dried, grounded use. Synthetic red pigments such as azorubin or tartrazin and the powder is directly used as a coloring agent. causes allergic reactions (Fabre et al., 1993) and C-red Colorants can be added to fruit flavored yoghurt for having carcinogenic and teratogenic effects (Merlin et enhancing the natural color of the fruit (Fabre et al., al., 1987). Fungi namely M. purpureus (Su et al., 2003; 1993). The red biopigments produced by Monascus are Wang et al., 2003) M. ruber (Endo, 1979), M. paxi the most important, since they are possible substitutes to (Manzoni and Rollini, 2002), M. anka (Su et al., 2003) synthetic pigments such as erythrosine. RYR is a natural have been reported for bio pigment production. food supplement which contains both sterols and statins (Panda et al., 2008). RYR also contains fiber, trace PIGMENT PRODUCING MICROORGANISMS elements, unsaturated fatty acids (Ma et al., 2000) and B- Complex vitamins (Palo et al., 1960). The genotoxic M. purpureus is a homothallic fungus (Van Tieghem, potential of extracts from Monascus species was much 1884; Went, 1895). The genus Monascus is considered to lower than that of nitrosamines, which possibly occur in belong to the family Monascaceae, the order Eurotiales, cured meats (Leistner et al., 1991). The extracts from the class Ascomycetes, the phylum Ascomycota, and the red rice were harmless to chicken embryos. The main kingdom Fungi (Young, 1930). Monascus was classified colored components of red rice are probably pigment and named in 1884 by French scientist Van Tieghem, amino-acid complexes lacking toxic effects. (1884). Went, (1895) published a careful study on M. purpureus, a species discovered from the samples, Application in pharmaceuticals collected by Dutch scientists in Java, where it was used largely for coloring rice (Went, 1895). 58 kinds of Pigments in