[ODP-194] Biological effects of Monascus spp. fermented products on diarrheagenic bacteria and mammalian cells
Monascus spp. are the filamentous fungi used in fermented foods, natural colorants, and food preservatives. We investigated the biological effect of Monascus spp. on the toxin-producing Vibrio cholerae, which has a sodium-driven single flagellum and translocate in liquid at a speed of about 100 μm/s due to the flagellar rotation. During the passage through the stomach, few cells propel themselves through the thick mucus that lines the small intestine to reach the intestinal epithelium where they can attach and thrive (flagellar locomotion). On reaching the intestinal epithelium, V. cholerae start proliferating and producing the cholera toxin (CTx) that lead the infected person to watery diarrhea. In this study, we investigated the biological effect of the extract of Monascus spp. - fermented product on toxin-producing Vibrio cholerae serogroup O1, Salmonella spp., and mammalian cell lines. When the extracts were applied to diarrheagenic bacteria, the virulent factors of bacteria such as motility, toxin production, adhesion, and invasion to the host cells were altered. On the other hand, treatment on mammalian cells with the extract changed the sensitivities to the adhesion and invasion of intracellular infection by bacteria and changed the apoptosis profile induced by infection.