ISSN:
1476-5535
Keywords:
Monascus
;
Water-soluble pigments
;
Semi-synthesis
;
Amino acids
;
Natural food color
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Process Engineering, Biotechnology, Nutrition Technology
Notes:
Summary New water-soluble red pigments were produced byMonascus sp. in a chemically defined fermentation medium containing glutamate as nitrogen source. They were isolated and characterized as glutamate derivatives of the well-known orangeMonascus pigments (monascorubrin and rubropunctatin). The new pigments have several advantages over the known redMonascus pigments (rubropunctamine and monascorubramine) including very high water-solubility, higher absorption coefficient, and greater resistance to decoloration by light. Adding glutamate, glycine or leucine to a resting-cell system led to the formation of specific water-soluble red pigments corresponding to the exogenous amino acid. The water-soluble red pigments produced by resting-cells have retention times identical to those of the corresponding red derivatives made chemically from the orange pigments in methanol-phosphate buffer at pH 7. The hydrophobicities of the amino acid sources correspond to the HPLC retention times of the red pigments derived from them.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01569621
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