Abstract

Esterification reaction by Monascus was produced with a mixed culture of different strains in which Monascus play a major role with higher activity and good specificity. The strain Q-306 was identified in the study as Monascus sp. with high esterification power usage and was screened from Daqu and Zhaopei in China. The esterification characteristic research showed the strain’s specificity to ethyl caproate. On the basis of the single factor experiment, the optimal condition of producing esterification was as follows: temperature was 35°C, alcohol concentration was 20% (v/v), pH value was 3.5 and substrate concentration was 1%.

Key words: Esterification Monascus, esterifying power, catalysis characteristic.