This study aimed to develop a new processing method for the effective use of rice shochu distillation remnants. We examined the inhibitory effects on the growth of human lung carcinoma cells in the medium of rice shochu distillation remnants with various fungi. Interestingly, high inhibitory effects on the growth of human lung carcinoma cells in the medium of rice shochu distillation remnants with Aspergillus oryzae were obtained, although no inhibitory effect was observed in the case of synthetic medium. We therefore fractionated the medium of rice shochu distillation remnants with A. oryzae using anion-exchange and reverse-phase chromatography. Furthermore, we attempted to determine the chemical structure of compounds that showed high inhibitory effects on the growth of tumor cells. The chemical structure of 1-hydroxy-6-(1-methylpropyl)-3-(2-methylproryl)-2(1H)-pyrazinone was revealed on the basis of liquid and gas mass spectroscopies. This compound should be completely safe based on toxic test results using model mice.
