The genus Monascus, comprising nine species, can reproduce either vegetatively with
filaments and conidia or sexually by the formation of ascospores. The most well-known …

Citrinin (CIT) deserves attention due to its known toxic effects in mammalian species and its
widespread occurrence in food commodities, often along with ochratoxin A, another …

As our understanding of the science and functions of color in food has increased, the
preferred colorants, forms of use, and legislation regulating their uses have also changed …

Detailed analyses were undertaken of the natural constituents of red yeast rice, a traditional
Chinese medicine and food known for centuries to improve blood circulation. Preparation of …

For centuries, people around the world have used fermentation to preserve and enhance the
flavor of a wide variety of foods. Today, complex interactions of microbiota in the digestive …

Monascus species produce useful secondary metabolite, Monascus pigments (MPs). They
are widely used in food industry as a color intensifier, food additives and nitrite substitute in …

Monascus-fermented rice has traditionally been used as a natural food colorant and food
preservative of meat and fish for centuries. It has recently become a popular dietary …

A series of publications in the 1950s described a kidney disease in Bulgaria, the former
Yugoslavia and Romania that became known as Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN). The …

Citrinin (CTN) is a nephrotoxic mycotoxin produced by several fungal strains belonging to
the genera Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Monascus. It contaminates various commodities of …

Botanicals are used in many countries for medicinal and general health-promoting
purposes. Numerous natural occurrences of mycotoxins in botanicals and dried fruits have …