Anti-tumor-initiating effects of monascin, an azaphilonoid pigment from the extract of Monascus pilosus fermented rice (red-mold rice)

  • Chem Biodivers. 2005 Oct;2(10):1305-9. doi: 10.1002/cbdv.200590101.
Toshihiro Akihisa  1 ,  Harukuni Tokuda ,  Motohiko Ukiya ,  Ayaka Kiyota ,  Ken Yasukawa ,  Naoyuki Sakamoto ,  Yumiko Kimura ,  Takashi Suzuki ,  Junko Takayasu ,  Hoyoku Nishino
Affiliations
  • 1. College of Science and Technology, Nihon University, 1-8 Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8308, Japan. [email protected]
PMID: 17191930 DOI: 10.1002/cbdv.200590101
Abstract

Monascin (1) constitutes one of the azaphilonoid Pigments in the extracts of Monascus pilosus-fermented rice (red-mold rice). Compound 1 was evaluated for its anti-tumor-initiating activity via oral administration on the two-stage carcinogenesis of mouse skin tumor induced by peroxynitrite (ONOO-; PN) or by ultraviolet light B (UVB) as an initiator and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) as a promoter. Compound 1 exhibited marked inhibitory activity on both PN- and UVB-induced mouse skin carcinogenesis tests. These findings suggest that compound 1 may be valuable as potential Cancer chemopreventive agent in chemical and environmental carcinogenesis.

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