Effective degradation of anthraquinones in Folium Sennae with Monascus fermentation for toxicity reduce and efficacy enhancement

Folium Sennae are widely used around the world, mainly in purging and removal of endogenous active substances, such as anthraquinone and its derivatives. However, the potential toxicity of anthraquinones to the liver, kidney, and intestinal limits the application of Folium Sennae. In this study, we aimed at safe regulation of Folium Sennae to degrade anthraquinones, boosting medicinal properties and reducing toxicity and potency with Monascus fermentation. Monascus strains H1102 for Folium Sennae fermentation were selected as the initial strain which was capable of producing high yields of functional pigment and low yields of hazardous citrinin. The anthraquinone degradation rate reached 41.2%, with 212.2 U mL−1 of the pigment and approximately 0.038 mg L−1 of the citrinin under optimal fermentation conditions followed by response surface streamlining, which met the requirements of reducing toxicity, increasing efficiency of Monascus fermented Folium Sennae. Furthermore, the Monascus/Folium Sennae culture had no observable toxic effect on HK-2 and L-02 cells in vitro and further inhibited cell apoptosis and necrosis. Overall, our results showed that Monascus fermentation could provide an alternative strategy for toxicity reduction of herbal medicines as well as efficacy enhancement.