Biotransformation of quinoa phenolic compounds with Monascus anka to enhance the antioxidant capacity and digestive enzyme inhibitory activity

This research aims to change the phenolic fractions and the bioactivities of quinoa by solid-state fermentation (SSF) with the edible fungus Monascus anka (M. anka). The contents of protein and fat increased in the fermented product, while the carbohydrate decreased. After 6-day fermentation with M. anka, the amount of phenolic compound reached the highest level. The majority of phenolic forms in fermented quinoa were phenolic acids, mainly ferulic acid, protocatechuic acid and p-hydroxybenzoic acid. Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) results showed that SSF was an effective method to transform quinoa phenolic compounds. Free fractions could be rapidly absorbed in the small intestine, suggesting that SSF with M. anka was a useful method to enhance bioavailable antioxidants. Antioxidant ability in vitro results showed that phenolic fractions from fermented quinoa were greater than the unfermented quinoa, and a significant cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) increment of 135% was obtained in the free phenolic fraction of fermented quinoa. Moreover, alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase inhibition activities were enhanced with fermentation. Correlation matrix analysis revealed that most of the free phenolic compounds showed strong positive correlations with antioxidant activities and digestive enzyme activities. Consequently, fermentation with M. anka was a particularly promising method to enhance the bioactivity of quinoa.