Study on Extraction and Stability of Monascus Pigment

Pigment-contained rice was produced after the solid fermentation by Monascus anka. Extracting process of Monascus pigment from the fermented rice was studied, and the optimum extractive solvent was 70% alcohol, the optimum temperature was 60℃. The stability of the Monascus pigment such as the heat resistance, radio-tolerance, resistance to acid, alkali and drug, was investigated. The results indicated that Monascus pigment was relatively stable under 150℃ and in the ultraviolet radiation, but very sensitive to the sunlight. Chemicals have different effects on Monascus pigment, small amount of NaCl and CaCl_2 had almost no influence, but some ions such as Cu~(2+) and Zn~(2+) had obvious effects; Monascus pigment was stable in pH 3～11.