The blood lipid regulation of Monascus-produced monascin and ankaflavin via the suppression of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol assembly and stimulation of apolipoprotein A1 expression in the liver.

Background/purposes: Monascin (MS) and ankaflavin (AK) produced by Monascus purpureus NTU 568 were proven to show excellent hypolipidemic effects in our previous studies; however, the mechanism is still unclear.

Methods: This study used MS, AK, and monacolin K as test substances and performed tests on rats fed high-fat and high-cholesterol diet for 8 weeks. The lipid levels and the related protein levels of the rats were assessed to understand the effects of MS, AK, and monacolin K on lipid metabolism.

Monascus-fermented yellow pigments monascin and ankaflavin showed antiobesity effect via the suppression of differentiation and lipogenesis in obese rats fed a high-fat diet.

Monascus-fermented monascin and ankaflavin are found to strongly inhibit differentiation and lipogenesis and stimulate lipolysis effects in a 3T3-L1 preadipocyte model, but the in vivo regulation mechanism is unclear. This study uses obese rats caused by a high-fat diet to examine the effects of daily monascin and ankaflavin feeding (8 weeks) on antiobesity effects and modulation of differentiation, lipogenesis, and lipid absorption. The results show that monascin and ankaflavin had a significant antiobesity effect, which should result from the modulation of monascin and ankaflavin on the inhibition of differentiation by inhibiting CCAT/enhancer-binding protein β (C/EBPβ) expression (36.