Effective degradation of anthraquinones in Folium Sennae with Monascus fermentation for toxicity reduce and efficacy enhancement
Mengfei Long,
Xiaomei Pei,
Zhi Lu,
Duo Xu,
Nan Zheng,
Yaxian Li,
Hanxiao Ge,
Wentao Cao,
Tolbert Osire,
Xiaole Xia
Affiliations
Mengfei Long
The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
Xiaomei Pei
The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
Zhi Lu
The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China; Infinitus (China) Co. Ltd., Guangzhou, 510665, China
Duo Xu
Wuxi Dipont School of Arts and Science, Wuxi, 214122, China
Nan Zheng
The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
Yaxian Li
Infinitus (China) Co. Ltd., Guangzhou, 510665, China
Hanxiao Ge
The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
Wentao Cao
The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
Tolbert Osire
Faculty of Biology, Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, Shenzhen, 518172, Guangdong, China
Xiaole Xia
The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China; Corresponding author.
Folium Sennae are widely used around the world, mainly in purging and removal of endogenous active substances, such as anthraquinone and its derivatives. However, the potential toxicity of anthraquinones to the liver, kidney, and intestinal limits the application of Folium Sennae. In this study, we aimed at safe regulation of Folium Sennae to degrade anthraquinones, boosting medicinal properties and reducing toxicity and potency with Monascus fermentation. Monascus strains H1102 for Folium Sennae fermentation were selected as the initial strain which was capable of producing high yields of functional pigment and low yields of hazardous citrinin. The anthraquinone degradation rate reached 41.2%, with 212.2 U mL−1 of the pigment and approximately 0.038 mg L−1 of the citrinin under optimal fermentation conditions followed by response surface streamlining, which met the requirements of reducing toxicity, increasing efficiency of Monascus fermented Folium Sennae. Furthermore, the Monascus/Folium Sennae culture had no observable toxic effect on HK-2 and L-02 cells in vitro and further inhibited cell apoptosis and necrosis. Overall, our results showed that Monascus fermentation could provide an alternative strategy for toxicity reduction of herbal medicines as well as efficacy enhancement.
