Stability Characteristics of Water-soluble Monascus Yellow Pigment under High-salt Fermentation

PANG Mei; CHEN Gong

doi:10.13982/j.mfst.1673-9078.2026.1.1582

Abstract：To enhance the development and application of water-soluble Monascus yellow pigment,a high-salt permeation fermentation system was established.Resin adsorption was used to separate the water-soluble Monascus yellow pigment,and ultraviolet-visible(UV-VIS)spectroscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)were employed to investigate the stability characteristics of the pigment.The results showed that the yield of the water-soluble Monascus yellow pigment reached 55.47 AU under high salt fermentation.The macroporous resin X-5 was used to adsorb and separate the water-soluble Monascus yellow pigment,achieving recovery and desalination rates of 93.65%and 98.44%,respectively.Furthermore,after rotary evaporation and lyophilization,a stock solution containing 86.93%water-soluble Monascus yellow pigment was obtained.Stability tests revealed that the pigment fermented under high salt conditions was more suitable for storage in acidic environments.It demonstrated good stability after exposure to white light for 24 h or heating at 100℃for 1 h,with preservation rates of 86.21%and 80.85%,respectively.Among the four main components of the water-soluble Monascus yellow pigment,Y2 exhibited stronger alkali resistance than Y1,Y3,and Y4.However,the UV stability of Y2 was lower than that of the other three pigment components,and the thermal stability followed the order Y1>Y2>Y3>Y4.The water-soluble Monascus yellow pigment fermented under high-salt osmosis conditions demonstrated good stability,although the stability of the four pigment components varied.These results provide a theoretical basis for the fermentation of water-soluble Monascus yellow pigment under extreme conditions and ensure its stable application.