Effects of Monascus dye on the blood levels of albumin, creatinine, urea and uric acid in rabbits

The present work evaluates the action of three different doses of Monascus dyes (24, 48 and 60 mg/Kg) on the metabolism of albumin, urea, creatinine and uric acid in male and female rabbits. New Zealand rabbits from the Department of Cuniculture of Universidade Federal de Vicosa (Brazil), were used: They were ca. 55 days old at the time of the experiment and they were divided by sex, into four groups of five animals each, receiving the Monascus dye in 24, 48 and 60 mg/Kg doses. Control group only received a ration. Daily, the animals received the Monascus dye in the different doses, during 28 days. Blood was collected twice, being the first collection at time zero and the second one at the end of the experiment. Blood was obtained from retro-orbital venous plexus and further centrifuged at 3,500 x gr. during 15 minutes. Albumin, creatinine, urea and uric acid were quantified by using multiparametric biochemical analysis from bioMerieux (Alize). The results showed that different doses of Monascus dye did not change the levels of albumin. Creatinine did not show too much variation and did not promote toxicity effects on rabbits, male or females. The same phenomenon was observed for urea and uric acid. Our results showed that, in the doses used, Monascus dye was innocuous for these animal's kidney and liver.