Biological transformation of medicine and food homology hawthorn with Monascus ruber to enhance lipid-lowering function

Obesity and hyperlipidemia, chronic diseases resulting from excessive energy intake and abnormal lipid metabolism, respectively, are intricately associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes and have become global health problems. Monascus ruber (M. ruber), a filamentous fungus with edible properties, produces bio-functional metabolites including a good deal of enzymes. In this study, the effect of the biological transformation of fermented food on obesity and hyperlipidemia, was systematically investigated using the mixture of medicine and food homology (MFH) hawthorn and millet as fermentation substrate. Results showed that fermentation promoted the release of bioactive compounds such as phenolic compounds. Pancreas lipase assay indicated that the inhibition rate and IC50 of free phenolic compounds in fermented MFH food were 70.51% ± 2.59%, and 1.34 mg/mL, respectively. In vitro, the binding rates of free phenolic compounds in fermented MFH food to Sodium cholate (SC), sodium glycinate (SGC) and sodium taurocholate (STC) were 84.99% ± 6.59%, 80.29% ± 6.23%, and 79.68% ± 6.18%. Further, Monascus-fermented hawthorn and millet (MFHM) of fermented MFH food markedly suppressed lipid accumulation in oleic acid (OA)-induced HepG2, with cell triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) clearance of 24.31% ± 1.81% and 73.88% ± 2.72%, respectively. These findings implied that the fermentation of a mixture of MFH millet and hawthorn by M. ruber holds promise for reducing obesity and lowering lipid levels, thereby serving as a valuable foundation and reference for future research on the development of multifunctional food products.