Monascus has a wonderful use in food in China. In the old society of Beijing, there was a well-known flavor snack called enema. Enema is actually not sausage, but something similar to sausage made of flour and monascus. Sliced into thin slices, fried in a pot with pigs, served with garlic juice and salt water, it is absolutely delicious. Among them, monascus played a particularly important role. Not only enema, but also many well-known flavor foods at home and abroad, such as Wuxi sparerib, apple fish maw, cherry meat, stewed duck with rose, Yuanyang fish and jujube, peach steamed bread, water chestnut cake, Zhuji, Liuli, etc., all contain red yeast, which can also be used to brew yellow rice wine, make fermented bean curd, edible ester and food pigment. The appearance of Monascus has written a brilliant chapter in the history of food microbial fermentation in China and the world.
Monascus is a kind of red mold, and ancient Chinese people realized its edible value very early. Monascus has a wide range of uses. For example, before the invention of special sauce color (caramel) for ancient soy sauce, monascus was the main edible pigment of red food such as braised pork. Monascus is also an excellent raw material for food industry. For example, red rice wine (red wine) produced by using red yeast in Fujian and Taiwan Province provinces of China enjoys a high reputation in the markets of Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and is deeply loved by consumers. It is recognized as having the functions of relaxing muscles and activating blood circulation and strengthening the body. Japanese people are deeply influenced by China culture, and they also like red koji very much. For example, in rural Japan, red koji is added when curing pork. Under the action of monascus protein phenol, cured meat is fresh and tender, and its appearance is dark red, which greatly increases people's appetite.
In modern times, the study of monascus has attracted worldwide attention. Biologists in Peking University screened a monascus strain from many monascus strains, and found lovastatin in its metabolites, which can lower serum cholesterol. After a lot of work, the wild strain was mutated into a production strain, which can produce high-content and stable natural statins. It is a specific inhibitor of the key enzyme of human cholesterol synthesis (HMG——CoA reductase) and is suitable for pharmacy. At the same time, it can also produce many beneficial components, such as essential amino acids and unsaturated fatty acids. At this time, monascus is very different from monascus which is usually used as pigment, so it is called special monascus. This special monascus has been used in pharmacy. A large number of studies have found that it has a very powerful comprehensive effect of reducing total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, serum triglyceride, atherosclerosis index and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. It is safe to take and has few side effects, and can effectively treat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and apoplexy and diseases related to hyperlipidemia, such as diabetes, nephrotic syndrome and fatty liver. It is considered to be the most promising lipid-lowering substance at present.
Monascus, making the past serve the present, has given it new vitality and vigor. Old medicine has a new look, which will bring new hope to human health.