Monascus properties

Antibacterial properties of Monascus were first mentioned by Wong and Bau in 1977. The so-called monascidin A was effective against Bacillus, Streptococcus and... 

Knecht, A., Cramer, B., and Humpf, H. U. 2006. New Monascus metabolites Structure elucidation and toxicological properties studied with immortalized human kidney epithelial cells. Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 50(3), 314-321. 

It was discovered by the Merck Sharp Dohme Research Laboratories that a strain of Aspergillus terreus obtained from a soil sample produced the cholesterol lowering fungal metabolite lovastatin (initially named mevinolin). Details of the isolation, structural characterization and biochemicai properties of iovastatin have been summarized by Alberts et al. (1). Lovastatin is identicai to monacoiin K isoiated independently from Monascus ruber by Endo (2). 

In a series of studies on the genus Monascus, the purification and properties of two forms of glycoamylase from Monascus kaoliang have been reported. The substrate specificities of the two enzymes were invesitgated. ... 

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