Inoculum preparation
Monascus ruber CCT 3802 was initially grown on PDA medium
in a Roux bottle incubated at 30 1C for 7 days and subsequently
stored at 4 1C (Vendruscolo et al., 2009). A spore suspension was
obtained by washing the Roux bottle cultures with a sterile
aqueous solution of 0.1% Tween 80. Fungal mycelia were obtained
by germination of the spores suspended in a 1000 mL baffled flask
containing 400 mL of inoculum culture medium at 30 1C, and
shaken on a rotary shaker at 120 rpm for 60 h. This suspension
was used for further inoculation in a bioreactor.