Monascus pigment is a secondary metabolite of Monascus and its structure is a polyketone compound. Monascus pigment is a kind of complex pigment, which has been identified and named. There are mainly six kinds of monascus pigments. Among them, red is Monascorubramine and Rubropunctamine, and orange is red. Monascorubrine and Rubropunctatine, yellow are Ankaflavine and Monascine. Monascus pigment is produced by microbial fermentation and proved to be safe and non-toxic by toxicity experiments. At present, Monascus pigment has been used in many industries such as food, medicine, and chemical industry. The highest content of Monascus pigment is the red pigment component. Although the content of monascus yellow pigment in the Monascus pigment is low, yellow pigment as an important food colorant species accounts for 60% of the market demand ratio. The development and utilization of monascus yellow pigment has a very broad commercial prospect.

Monascus yellow pigment is a natural colorant extracted from Monascus purpureus and M. anka using modern biotechnology. The main components are ankaflavin and Monascus red. Monascin and the like. Monascus yellow pigment is mainly used for coloring candy, jelly, cold drinks, etc., and is a yellow coloring agent.

Both Japan and South Korea have established national standards for Monascus Yellow pigment, but in mainland China, the production of monascus yellow pigment has just begun. The main production methods are liquid fermentation, solid fermentation and conversion. Since the production of monascus yellow pigment started late, there are few manufacturers at present, and the products are not listed on a large scale. Recently, relevant units and enterprises are formulating national standards for Monascus Yellow pigment, and it is necessary to establish a reasonable and feasible method for detecting Monascus Yellow pigment.