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Red Yeast Rice Research on Cholesterol Recently,
the UCLA School of Medicine conducted a study involving 83 people
with high cholesterol levels. Those who received red yeast rice over
a 12-week period experienced a significant reduction in total
cholesterol, LDL ("bad") cholesterol, and triglycerides
(fatty substances that can also accumulate in the blood stream and
cause damage to blood vessels) compared to those who received
placebo. HDL ("good") cholesterol did not change in either
group during the study.
In
another 8-week trial involving 446 people with high cholesterol
levels, those who received red yeast rice experienced a significant
drop in cholesterol levels compared to those who received placebo.
Total cholesterol fell by 22.7%, LDL by 31%, and triglycerides by 34%
in the red yeast rice group. HDL cholesterol increased by 20% in the
red yeast rice group as well. (Bonovich, K, Colfer H, Davidson M,
Dujovne C, Greenspan M, Karlberg R, et al. A Multi-Center,
Self-Controlled Study of Cholestin In Subjects With Elevated
Cholesterol. American Heart Association. 39th Annual
Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention,
Orlando, Fl. March 1999).
Along
with its evaluation in animal trials, red yeast rice has been
clinically investigated as a therapy for reducing cholesterol
in two human trials. In one trial, both men and women taking 1.2
grams (approximately 13.5 mg total monacolins) of a concentrated red
yeast rice extract per day for two months had significant decreases
in serum cholesterol levels. In addition, people taking red yeast
rice had a significant increase in HDL (“good”) cholesterol and a
decrease in LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Elevated triglycerides
were also found to be lowered.
(Li
C, Zhu Y, Wang Y, et al. Monascus
purpureus-fermented
rice (red yeast rice): a natural food product that lowers blood
cholesterol in animal models of hypercholesterolemia. Nutr
Res 1998;18:71–81).
(Wang
J, Lu Z, Chi J, et al. Multicenter clinical trial of the serum
lipid-lowering effects of a Monascus
purpureus (red
yeast) rice preparation from traditional Chinese medicine. Curr
Ther Res
1997;58:964–77).
A
double-blind trial at the UCLA School of Medicine determined that red
yeast rice in the amount of 2.4 grams per day (approximately 10 mg
total monacolins) in capsules significantly decreased total- and
LDL-cholesterol levels in a sample of people with elevated
cholesterol after 12 weeks of therapy. Triglycerides were also
reduced in those taking red yeast rice. However, unlike the original
study, HDL values did not increase substantially.
(Heber
D, Yip I, Ashley JM, et al. Cholesterol-lowering effects of a
proprietary Chinese red-yeast-rice dietary supplement. Am
J Clin Nutr
1999;69:231–6).
Clinical
Research Abstracts:
Chinese red yeast rice (Monascus
purpureus) for primary hyperlipidemia: a meta-analysis of randomized
controlled trials.
Chin
Med.
2006 Nov 23;1:4
Liu
J,
Zhang
J,
Shi
Y,
Grimsgaard
S,
Alraek
T,
Fonnebo
V.
National
Research Centre in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NAFKAM),
University of Tromso, Tromso N-9037, Norway.
Jianping.liu@fagmed.uit.no.
ABSTRACT: Extracts of
Chinese red yeast rice (RYR, a traditional dietary seasoning of
Monascus purpureus) contains several active ingredients including
lovastatin, and several trials of its possible lipid-lowering effects
have been conducted. This meta-analysis assesses the effectiveness
and safety of RYR preparations on lipid modification in primary
hyperlipidemia. We included randomized controlled trials testing RYR
preparation, compared with placebo, no treatment, statins, or other
active lipid-lowering agents in people with hyperlipidemia through
searching PubMed, CBMdisk, TCMLARS, the Cochrane Library, and AMED up
to December 2004. Ninety-three randomized trials (9625 participants)
were included and three RYR preparations (Cholestin, Xuezhikang and
Zhibituo) were tested. The methodological quality of trial reports
was generally low in terms of generation of the allocation sequence,
allocation concealment, blinding, and intention-to-treat. The
combined results showed significant reduction of serum total
cholesterol levels (weighted mean difference -0.91 mmol/L, 95%
confidence interval -1.12 to -0.71), triglycerides levels (-0.41
mmol/L, -0.6 to -0.22), and LDL-cholesterol levels (-0.73 mmol/L,
-1.02 to -0.043), and increase of HDL-cholesterol levels (0.15
mmol/L, 0.09 to 0.22) by RYR treatment compared with placebo. The
lipid modification effects appeared to be similar to pravastatin,
simvastatin, lovastatin, atorvastatin, or fluvastatin. Compared with
non-statin lipid lowering agents, RYR preparations appeared superior
to nicotinate and fish oils, but equal to or less effective than
fenofibrate and gemfibrozil. No significant difference in lipid
profile was found between Xuezhikang and Zhibituo. RYR preparations
were associated with non-serious adverse effects such as dizziness
and gastrointestinal discomfort. Current evidence shows short-term
beneficial effects of RYR preparations on lipid modification. More
rigorous trials are needed, and long-term effects and safety should
be investigated if RYR preparations are to be recommended as one of
the alternative treatments for primary hyperlipidemia.
PMID:
17302963 [PubMed - in process]
Red yeast rice: a new hypolipidemic
drug.
Life
Sci.
2004 Apr 16;74(22):2675-83
Journoud
M,
Jones
PJ.
School
of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Red yeast rice is a
source of fermented pigment with possible bioactive effect. Evidence
shows that fermented red yeast rice lowers cholesterol levels
moderately compared to other statin drugs, but with the added
advantage of underscores its potential as a new alternative to lipid
level control. It is concluded from the present evidence that other
types of pigmented rice possess opportunities for development as new
functional foods.
PMID:
15069955 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Hypolipidemic and anti-atherogenic
effects of long-term Cholestin (Monascus purpureus-fermented rice,
red yeast rice) in cholesterol fed rabbits.
J
Nutr Biochem.
2003 Jun;14(6):314-8
Wei
W,
Li
C,
Wang
Y,
Su
H,
Zhu
J,
Kritchevsky
D.
Department
of Biochemical Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Peking
University Health Science Center, Beijing 100083, China.
Long-term effects of
Cholestin (Monascus purpureus rice; red yeast rice) on serum lipids
and severity of atherosclerosis were examined in rabbits fed for 200
days on a semi-purified diet containing 0.25% cholesterol. Serum
total cholesterol was 25 and 40% lower, respectively, in rabbits fed
0.4 or 1.35 g/kg/day of Cholestin (Monascus purpureus rice; red yeast
rice) compared to controls. This treatment also lowered serum LDL
cholesterol. This 200-day treatment significantly reduced serum
triglycerides and atherosclerotic index (ratio of non-HDL-cholesterol
to HDL-cholesterol). Although similar reductions of total,
LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides were observed, a parallel group of
rabbits fed lovastatin (0.0024 g/kg/day) failed to reduce the index
significantly. Apolipoprotein A(1) was increased and apolipoprotein B
was reduced in all treatment groups. Severity of atherosclerosis was
reduced significantly in all treatment groups. The sudanophilic area
of involvement was 80.6% in controls, and reduced significantly; to
30.1% on the low dose of Cholestin (Monascus purpureus rice; red
yeast rice), and 17.2% on the high dose. Lovastatin reduced severity
of lesions by 89% (sudanophilia) and 84% (visual). Visual grading of
lesion severity showed reduction by 38% and 68%.
PMID:
12873712 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Cholestin inhibits cholesterol
synthesis and secretion in hepatic cells (HepG2).
Mol
Cell Biochem.
2002 Apr;233(1-2):153-8
Man
RY,
Lynn
EG,
Cheung
F,
Tsang
PS,
O
K.
Department
of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, China.
Hyperlipidemia is a
well-known risk factor for atherosclerosis and statins are widely
used to treat patients with elevated levels of lipids in their
plasma. Notwithstanding the proven benefits of statin drugs on both
primary and secondary prevention of heart disease, the high cost of
statin treatment, in addition to possible side effects such as liver
function abnormalities, may limit their widespread use. We conducted
a study on a natural product as an alternative to statin treatment.
Cholestin, a dietary supplement, is prepared from rice fermented with
red yeast (Monascus purpureus), which has been shown to significantly
decrease total cholesterol levels in hyperlipidemic subjects. Our
objective was to determine the cellular effect of Cholestin on
cholesterol synthesis in human hepatic cells (HepG2) and the
mechanism by which it caused a change in lipid metabolism. Cholestin
had a direct inhibitory effect on HMG-CoA reductase activity (78-69%
of control). Cholesterol levels in HepG2 cells treated with Cholestin
(25-100 microg/mL) were significantly reduced in a dose-dependent
manner (81-45% of control, respectively). This reduction was
associated with decreased synthesis and secretion of both
unesterified cholesterol (54-31 and 33-14% of control, respectively)
and cholesteryl ester (18-6 and 37-19% of control, respectively).
These results indicate that one of the anti-hyperlipidemic actions of
Cholestin is a consequence of an inhibitory effect on cholesterol
biosynthesis in hepatic cells and provide the first documentation of
a biomolecular action of red yeast rice.
PMID:
12083370 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] |
