International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ___________________________________ ISSN 2278-3202 Vol. 4(10), 1-9, October (2015) Int. Res. J. Biological Sci. International Science Congress Association 1 Physiological Studies on the Monascus ruber Red Pigment and GC/MS Analysis Eman Mostafa Mohamed Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, PO Box 71516, Assiut, EGYPT Available online at: www.isca.in, www.isca.me Received 13 th July 2015, revised 30 th August 2015, accepted 30 th September 2015 Abstract Physiological studies and effect of mono-sodium-glutamate (Na-G) and agitation on the two M. ruber strains are studied. The GC/MS analysis recorded that the different effects of Na-G and agitation on the red pigment, spectrophotometeric colour intensity, number and kinds of the antioxidant, flavouring metabolites. Visual estimation of the soluble pigment by tested M. ruber strains AUMC 4066 and 5705 were cultivated on four kinds of media including glucose, malt, malt+Na–glutamate and glucose+Na–glutamate, incubated statically and submerged at 120 rpm for 10 days at 30°C are studied. Also the colour intensity estimated at A 500nm by spectrophotometer are studied. The results clearing that the deepest red colour of the soluble pigment are recorded in malt, and malt+Na–glutamate of the tested of M. ruber strain AUMC 4066. The media fortified by glutamate are inhibited the red soluble colours and gives the red or brown-red colour. The highest colour intensity of the soluble pigment: are detected in submerged malt and malt+Na–glutamate of M. ruber 4066 are 3.528 and 3.477. Also all the reading clearing that the strain No.4066 have the highest colour intensity on the all tested media. Numbers and kinds of the metabolites detected in the ethanolic extracts of the selected strain AUMC 4066 has been studied by using GC/MS analysis. 140 flavouring and antioxidant metabolites are detected in the extracts of the four tested culture media incubated at 120rpm, 30°C for ten days. Malt medium recorded the highest numbers of metabolites followed by Malt+Na-glutamate, glucose+Na-glutamate and glucose media are 76, 25, 20 and 11, respectively. The highest numbers of the classified recorded metabolic products includes 48 phenolic compounds, 38 esters, 23 alkanes and alkenes, 10 ketons, 5 indolic compounds, 4 from (azole and terpenoids), 2 for each of (amides and amines), one for each of (aldehyde, free fatty acids, pyran and cyclo-arabitol) are detected at  1 mass fractions in the ethanolic extracts of the tested medium. Keywords: Monascus ruber strains, spectrophotometer, GC/MS, antioxidants, flavouring metabolites, Na-Glutamate, agitations. Introduction Monascus is a commercial and applied fungus used in different places around the world specially the Asian countries. Monascus is highly red pigmented ascomycetous filamentous fungus able to produced three colouring groups "red, yellow and orange" colours 1 . Monascus pigment has many 2ry metabolites for protective their cells against lethal (photo-oxidations, UV radiation, extremes heat and cold stress and other microbes), source of nutrients, such as iron and source of energy. It also acting as cofactors in enzyme catalysis, sexual and a sexual spores productions for completed the fungal developments and natural life cycle are helpful the fungal development and act as virulence factors for enhance the survivability of spores 2,3 . Monascus natural pigments act as a sources of wide available and diverse metabolites which using as the food colorants 1 . It have high ranks in annual consumption and sales around the world. Their globule production increased and was valued at $12 million 4,5 . Monascus pigments are natural products have many advantages and ideal characters referred for cocustomer due to it producing from fungi including independence from weather conditions, wonderful colors with different shades, produced by simple and non expensive methods by fermentation on the grains, inexpensive substrates "specially agro-industrial residues", through few days (7-12 days), easily extracted, high (safety, stability, solubility in water and alcohol. It also have high "nutritional, flavoring or aromatic, bioactive or medicinal" values without any bad impact on human health and environment. Since human civilization Monascus pigment is appreciated for flavor and aroma and are widely accepted as flavoring material in many industrial applications around the world includes food additive, coloring agents in "foodstuffs, tissue texture, leathers, cosmetics, perfume and soups" for centuries, recently it used in "pharmacology and medicine", preservative and agricultural importance 1 . Monascus pigment have high medicinal value due to the presences of numerous bioactive metabolites, they have beneficial health effects without any negative side-effects. It also possess antioxidant metabolites which used in prevention of many dangerous disease such as anticancer, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, antidiabites, antimicrobial, anti inflammatory, anticholesterol, anti-cardiovascular diseases agents, indigestion,