The use of Monascus has a history of over 1 000 years in China and it is commonly used for making red yeast rice and fermented bean curd. Its metabolites demonstrate broad application potential in the fields of food, health products and medicine. This review summarizes recent advances in research on the metabolites of Monascus in terms of their antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, lipid-lowering, blood glucose-lowering, and blood pressure-lowering effects. Studies indicate that Monascus metabolites contain various functional components, such as Monascus pigments, monacolin K and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which exhibit their biological activities through multiple mechanisms. Some Monascus pigments have antibacterial properties, monacolin K is an ideal lipid-lowering agent, and GABA shows a significant blood pressure-lowering effect. Additionally, Monascus metabolites demonstrate good anti-inflammatory activity and blood glucose-lowering effects, and show significant anti-inflammatory effects in inflammation models. In conclusion, Monascus metabolites have broad application prospects, but further research is needed to elucidate the mechanism of their health benefits. This review will promote their development and application in the food, health and medical fields.

This paper presents a comparative analysis of regulations and standards relating to whey protein powder in China and other countries and regions including the United States, the European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea with respect to product quality indicators, contaminants and mycotoxins, and microbial limits. The quality indexes in China’s standards for whey protein powder are similar to those in other countries despite differences in some requirements. There are no differences in the requirements on mycotoxin residues, while the types and limits of contaminants are quite different. There are also some differences in the items but no difference on the limits of microbiological requirements.