Abstract
The production of mevinolin, a potent hypocholesterolemic drug, and the bioconversion of isoflavones were investigated in soybeans fermented with Monascus pilosus KFRI-1140. The highest yields of 2.94 mg mevinolins and 1.13 mg isoflavone aglycones per g dry weight of soybean were obtained after 20 days of fermentation. Mevinolin was present in the fermentation substrate predominantly in the hydroxycarboxylate form (open lactone, 94.8～96.7%), which is currently being used as an hypocholesterolemic agent. The significant (p＜0.01) bioconversion (96.6%) of the glucoside isoflavones (daidzin, glycitin, genistin) present in the soybean to the bioactive aglycones (daidzein, glycitein, genistein), with a 15.8-fold increase of aglycones was observed. The results suggest that Monascus-fermented soybean has potential as a novel medicinal food or multifunctional food supplement.
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