Culture conditions for yellow pigment formation byMonascus sp. KB 10 grown on cassava medium

An isolate ofMonascus, from a commercial, fermented soybean curd (sufu) was grown on a cassava medium. With medium at an initial pH of 7.0 an orange-red pigmentation was produced but with an initial pH below 4, a light golden pigment was obtained. A medium containing, w/v, 3% cassava starch, 0.4% peptone and 0.1% glutamic acid, with an initial pH of 2.5 was optimal for the production of this yellow pigment, which had a single maximum absorption spectrum at 330 nm. The spectroscopic characterization of the purified yellow pigments demonstrated a monascin-ankaflavin-monascorubrin skeleton.