A new sesquiterpene isolated from the extracts of the fungus Monascus pilosus-fermented rice

Abstract

A new sesquiterpene, monaspilosuslin (1), as well as seven known compounds 3β-hydroxystigmast-5-en-7-one (2), β-sitostenone (3), monascin (4), ankaflavin (5), N-trans-feruloyltyramine (6), vanillic acid (7) and α-tocopheryl quinone (8), were isolated from the n-BuOH-soluble fraction of the 70% ethanolic extract of red yeast rice fermented with the fungus Monascus pilosus BCRC 38072 (Eurotiaceae). The structures of these compounds were determined by analyses of spectroscopic data, mainly 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. All of the isolates were also evaluated for their scavenging properties toward the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical in thin layer chromatography (TLC) autographic and spectroscopic methods.

Keywords:

• Monascus pilosus
• fungus
• red yeast rice
• sesquiterpene
• monaspilosuslin
• DPPH

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Mrs Lois McBeth for correcting the manuscript before submission. This investigation was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Republic of China (Grant No. 94-EC-17-A-17-R7-0563).

Notes

^†Both authors contributed equally to this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ming-Der Wu†

†Both authors contributed equally to this article.