Bioinformatics Analysis of LDLR Gene Mutation that Shed a New Light on Red Yeast Rice Monacolin K Treatment � Systematic Review

Background: Hypercholesteremia is the major cause of cardiovascular diseases. It results from elevated cholesterol levels in the blood. LDL cholesterol is removed from the circulation by using the LDL receptor. Red mold rice or red yeast rice is produced by fermentation of the Monascus Purpureus yeast on rice. Many researchers suggest that the active component in Red Yeast Rice (monacolin k) serves as a treatment for hypercholesteremic patients. Methods: By using NCBI databases, specifically GenBank to analyze DNA sequence and mRNA sequence of LDLR gene. GenBank file format was helpful to extract an accession number of the gene, number of amino acids, exons, and length of nucleotides. FASTA format was also useful to retrieve the nucleotide sequence and get the function of the protein. BLAST was used to compare the protein product of the LDLR gene between humans and pan paniscus (pygmy chimpanzee). Results: In accession number NC_000019, the number of amino acids in protein product is 44389 bp, and the number of exons found is 18. On the other hand, the gene is located in chromosome 19. The function of LDLR gene is to control the production of LDL receptor where the low-density lipoprotein particles attach to it and are taken into the cell ending up in the lysosome where the protein is degraded and cholesterol is made which will inhibit 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductase that controls the production of cholesterol. Finally, many organisms have the same gene like dogs, cows, mice, rats, zebrafish, and frogs. Conclusion: Mutation in the LDLR gene causing high level of cholesterol in the blood especially LDL (Low-density Lipoprotein). Monacolin k that found in red yeast rice (RYR) is safe and natural alternative treatment for hypercholesteremic patients by lowering the cholesterol level in the blood.

Quality Standard for Highland Barley Monascus / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

This article is aimed to establish the method of quality standards for highland barley Monascus.Microscopic and TLC were adopted to identify Araliataibaiensis. Referring the relevant method in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 edition) for the determination of its moisture, total ash, acid insoluble ash and extracts,lovastatin in acid and lactone form was determined using high performance liquid chromatography. The characteristics of highland barley Monascus in microscopic and TLC were obvious and specific. The contents in barley red yeast are: water 6.04%-8.78%, total ash 2.15%-2.92%, acid insoluble ash 0.23%-0.29%, water extracts 27.99%-30.17%; alcohol extracts 14.12%-18.51%. The ranges of lovastatin in acid and lactone form are 0.11%-0.29% and 0.02%-0.08%, respectively. The established method is simple, accurate, reliable and duplicable, and can be used to control the quality of highland barley Monascus.

Discussion on quality standards of lipid-reducing Monascus product / 中草药

The status related to the quality standards of lipid-reducing Monascus product was introduced in this paper. The contents of several existing standards involved with lipid-reducing Monascus product in China were mainly discussed. Some of the standards lack inclusiveness and rationality, which makes too specific regulations on the fermentation strains and raw materials. Some of the standards lack scientificity in structure and test method of monacolin K. In some standards, the restricted concentration of citrinin is too harsh, which is out of the sensitivity of the existing instrument and also lacks operability. It is suggested that more scientific and reasonable standards should be established to promote the development of lipid-reducing Monascus product.

Elevated yield of Monacolin K in Monascus purpureus by fungal elicitor and mutagenesis of UV and LiCl

In China, Monascus spp., a traditional fungus used in fermentation, is used as a natural food additive. Monascus spp. can produce a secondary metabolite, monacolin K namely, which is proven to be a cholesterol-lowering and hypotensive agent. Hence, recently, many researchers have begun focusing on how to increase the production of monacolin K by Monascus purpureus. In the present study, we investigated the effect of the fungal elicitor and the mutagenesis of UV & LiCl on the amount of monacolin K produced by Monascus purpureus. The fugal elicitor, Sporobolomyces huaxiensis, was isolated from tea leaves and its filtrate was added into the culture filtrate of Monascus purpureus during growth to induct the production of monacolin K. The results showed that the highest amount of monacolin K produced by the liquid fermentation was 446.92 mg/mL, which was produced after the fungal elicitor was added to the culture filtrate of Monascus purpureus on the day 4; this amount was approximately 6 times greater than that of the control culture filtrate, whereas the highest amount of monacolin K produced by the mutated strain was 3 times greater than the control culture after the irradiation of UV light in the presence of 1.0 % LiCl in the medium.

The Effect of Red-Yeast-Rice Supplement on Serum Lipid Profile and Glucose Control in Subjects with Impaired Fasting Glucose or Impaired Glucose Tolerance

This study was aimed at evaluating the effect of red-yeast-rice supplementation on cholesterol-lowering and glucose control in subjects with impaired fasting glucose (IFT) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). We conducted a doubleblind, placebo-controlled study with 3 groups ; placebo, low dose group (red yeast rice 210.0 mg/capsule, 2.52 g/day)and high dose group (red yeast rice 420.0 mg/capsule, 5.04 g/day), which were randomly assigned to subjects with impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance. We measured fasting serum concentrations of total-, LDL-, HDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose, insulin, free fatty acid (FFA) and 2 h oral glucose tolerence test (OGTT) before and after the supplementation. Both low dose and high dose groups had significant decrease in LDL cholesterol and atherogenic index (AI) compared with placebo group (p < 0.05). Additionally, total and HDL cholesterol improved significantly in high dose group compared with placebo group (p < 0.05). Fasting serum glucose decreased in test groups and increased in placebo group after intervention. However, it was not significant differences. In subjects which fasting blood glucose is more than 110 mg/dL, fasting glucose had a tendency to decrease in high dose group (p < 0.1) and Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) had significant decrease in low dose group (p < 0.05), while insulin and HOMA-IR had a tendency to increase in placebo group after intervention. Mean changes of glucose related parameters (fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR) compared with placebo group did not show significant differences. In conclusion, subjects with impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance were significantly improved in serum lipid profile by red yeast rice supplementation without serious side effects. These are more effective in the case of a high dose. The effects of red yeast rice supplementation on glucose control were insignificant.

THE QUANTITATIVE DETERMINATION OF THE SOYBEAN ISOFLAVONES AND MONACOLIN K IN FERMENTED SOYBEAN PRODUCT BY HPLC / 营养学报

Objective To establish a method for determining the soybean isoflavones and Monacolin K in fermented soybean product by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC). Methods The soybean isoflavones and Monacolin K in fermented soybean were separated by HPLC with polaris C18 (2.0 mm?100 mm, 3?m)at 50℃.The mixed solution of water (containing 0.3%phosphatic acid) and acetonitrile was used as mobile phase for gradient elution at a rate 0.30ml/min. And the absorption was measured at 260 nm, 237 nm for the soybean isoflavones and Monacolin K, were determined of soybean isoflavones and Monacolin K in fermented soybean product. Results When the contents of soybean isoflavones and Monacolin K were in 0.2～45mg/L, there was a good linear relationship between absorption and content, by which the average recoveries were 88.9%～101.1% and relative standard deviation ranged between 0.89%～3.19%. Conclusion The method is accurate and reliable for quantitative analysis of the soybean isoflavones and Monacolin K in fermented soybean product.