Monascus-mediated fermentation improves the nutricosmetic potentials of soybeans

Synchronous reducing anti-nutritional factors and enhancing biological activity of soybean by the fermentation of edible fungus Auricularia auricula

Auricularia auricula fermentation was performed to reduce anti-nutritional factors, improve nutritional components, and enhance biological activity of soybean. Results showed that the contents of raffinose, stachyose, and trypsin inhibitor were significantly decreased from initial 1.65 g L-1, 1.60 g L-1, and 284.67 μg g-1 to 0.14 g L-1, 0.35 g L-1, and 4.52 μg g-1 after 144 h of fermentation, respectively. Simultaneously, the contents of polysaccharide, total phenolics, and total flavonoids were increased, and melanin was secreted. The isoflavone glycosides were converted to their aglycones, and the contents of glyctin and genistin were decreased from initial 1107.99 μg g-1 and 2852.26 μg g-1 to non-detection after 72 h of fermentation, respectively. After 96 h of fermentation, the IC50 values of samples against DPPH and ABTS radicals scavenging were decreased from 17.61 mg mL-1 and 3.43 mg mL-1 to 4.63 mg mL-1 and 0.89 mg mL-1, and those of samples inhibiting α-glucosidase and angiotensin I-converting enzyme were decreased from 53.89 mg mL-1 and 11.27 mg mL-1 to 18.24 mg mL-1 and 6.78 mg mL-1, respectively, indicating the significant increase in these bioactivities. These results suggested A. auricula fermentation can enhance the nutritional quality and biological activity of soybean, and the fermented soybean products have the potential to be processed into health foods/food additives.

Antioxidant and in vitro cosmeceutical activities of chestnut inner shell fermented by Monascus kaoliang

Chestnut inner shell (CIS) was fermented at 30 °C for 12 day using Monascus kaoliang, either in solid or submerged state, and alcohol extracts (70% ethanol) of the fermented CIS were examined for their antioxidant (total phenol content and diphenylpicrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity) and in vitro cosmeceutical activities (tyrosinase and elastase inhibitory activities). Both activities were significantly increased by the M. kaoliang-fermentation, more apparently by submerged fermentation (SMF) than by solid-state fermentation (SSF). The cosmeceutical activity reached its maximum value on the 3rd day of fermentation. The residual amounts of phenolic acids and catechins in the CIS extracts were increased by the fermentation, up to 395.0 and 344.3 µg/g, respectively. More phenolic acids were produced by SMF than SSF, whereas more catechins were produced by SSF than SMF. Therefore, SMF using M. kaoliang was an efficient process for the utilization of CIS as a source of cosmeceuticals.

Tyrosinase Inhibitory Activity of Soybeans Fermented with Bacillus subtilis Capable of Producing a Phenolic Glycoside, Arbutin

The production of arbutin, an effective tyrosinase inhibitor as well as an outstanding antioxidant, by 691 Bacillus strains isolated from soybean-based foods was tested to enhance the tyrosinase inhibitory activity of soybeans via fermentation with the strains. Among the strains tested, the 5 strains capable of significantly producing arbutin were identified as B. subtilis via 16S rRNA sequencing. When soybeans were fermented with each of the selected strains, the arbutin content was highest on day 1 of fermentation and decreased thereafter. However, the tyrosinase inhibitory activity of the fermented soybeans continuously increased as fermentation progressed, whereas the activity of non-inoculated soybeans was consistently low. The results indicate that arbutin enhances the tyrosinase inhibitory activity of soybeans in the early period of fermentation, while other substances besides arbutin contribute to the activity in the later period. Consequently, soybeans fermented with arbutin-producing B. subtilis strains could be considered as a natural source of cosmeceuticals and nutricosmetics used in skin lightening and may be of interest in the food industry because they contain well-known and powerful antioxidants such as arbutin and other substances.

Effect of Monascus-Fermented Soybean Extracts on Antioxidant and Skin Aging-Related Enzymes Inhibitory Activities

We investigated the in vitro inhibitory activity against skin aging-related enzymes and antioxidant activity of Monascus-fermented soybean extracts (MFSEs) obtained by using different solvents. The highest Trolox equivalent (TE) antioxidant capacity (3.13±0.06 mM TE/g) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (2.79±0.09 mM TE/g) of MFSEs were evaluated for the methanol and 80% ethanol extracts, respectively. The antioxidant capacities increased with increasing concentration (0.5~50 mg/mL). In addition, the methanol and 80% ethanol extracts showed an effective inhibition against tyrosinase, hyaluronidase, and elastase compared with those of acetone and hot water extracts (P<0.05). Results indicate that the inhibitory activities against skin aging-related enzymes and antioxidant properties provide evidence for the nutricosmetic potentials of Monascus-fermented soybeans.