Monascus Red rice is a product of steamed rice grains fermented by Monascus. It is an important invention of ancient Chinese people and has high practical value in diet and medical treatment. The specific years of the Chinese ancients inventing the Monascus Red have been difficult to test. However, from the "Junior Records" compiled by Xu Jian and others in the Tang Dynasty, the "Seven Releases" of the late Han Dynasty Wang Shuo was quoted: The words “soft, smooth cream, and divergent entrance” show that the Chinese have already made and applied Monascus Red two thousand years ago.
Monascus Red is also known as Danqu, Akasaka, Fuqu, Monascus Redrice, red rice. TheMonascus Red pigment in Monascus Red rice is one of the safe red pigments used by Chinese people for food dyeing. It is widely used in the production of red sausage, pork roast, braised pork, sauce duck, red bean curd, Monascus Red, red wine, beverage, Candied fruit, pastries. Monascus Redrice is not only a safe food coloring agent, but also a safe and effective food preservative. Ming Yingxing, a scientist of the Ming Dynasty, highly praised the Monascus Red in his book "Heavenly Creations": "World Fish The most (easy) decaying rot, and this material (red koji) is applied thinly, which can fix it in the heat. After the lapse of the month, the scorpion flies are not close, the color is not far from the beginning, and the Geqi medicine is also. ”
In Chinese history, Monascus Red is also used for food and medicinal purposes. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese medicine believes that oral rMonascus Red mainly has the effect of promoting blood circulation, removing spleen and digesting food. It can be used to treat food fullness, stagnation of abdominal pain, maternal lochia, bruises, etc.; external treatment is mainly anti-inflammatory and antiseptic. Function, can be used for external treatment of children with head sores.
After the 1970s and 1980s, scholars from different countries and regions discovered their new effects and new values on human health through experiments and research on Monascus Red.
In 1979, Japanese scholars screened a substance with significant hypolipidemic effects in the fermentation of Aspergillus terreus and Monascus. This substance, called Monacolin K, produced specific inhibition of cholesterol synthase in the human body. Function, which can effectively reduce blood lipids. Subsequently, American scholars developed a drug to treat hyperlipidemia. Later, some pharmaceutical companies in other countries also conducted research on the preparation and efficacy of Monascus Red rice.
The Monascus Red product is compared with the western medicine lovastatin hypolipidemic drug. It is observed that the effect of lowering blood cholesterol is similar, but the former can not only lower the level of low-density lipoprotein (bad cholesterol) in the blood, but also improve the blood. High-density lipoprotein (good cholesterol) levels, the latter does not have this advantage.
In addition to containing blood lipids and antibacterial antiseptic substances, Monascus Red rice also contains ergosterol, bioflavonoids, saponins, dietary fiber, aminopolysaccharides, etc., which have different degrees of prevention and treatment for cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, fatty liver and type 2 diabetes. efficacy. In addition, it is said to be helpful in preventing osteoporosis, tumors and relieving fatigue, and it can be said that it has a promising development prospect.