Red yeast rice, an ancient Chinese food supplement that does a good a job of lowering cholesterol, could become an over the counter alternative to prescription statins like Lipitor and Zocor. Photo Credit: Sawf NewsJune 19, 2009, (Sawf News) - Red yeast rice, an ancient Chinese food supplement that does a good a job of lowering cholesterol, could become an over the counter alternative to prescription statins like Lipitor and Zocor.
The supplement, also used as a food color, additive, and preservative, is extracted from rice fermented with a type of yeast called Monascus purpureus. It has been used in China and other Asian countries for centuries as a traditional medicine to help lower cholesterol.
A recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine followed 62 patients on prescription statins, such as Lipitor or Zocor, who suffered from severe muscle pains due to the medication. Half of the participants were supplemented with 1,800 mg of red yeast rice every day. After 12 weeks, those taking the supplements had their LDL, aka 'bad cholesterol', drop by a 27 percent. Those who did not take the red yeast rice supplements saw their LDL drop by only 6 percent.
"I was pleasantly surprised with the degree of LDL lowering," said Dr. Daniel Rader, a lipid specialist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and an author of the study. "I have to confess, I did not expect this degree of LDL lowering. And there were many fewer side effects than expected."
Red yeast rice contains several compounds collectively known as monacolins, substances known to inhibit cholesterol synthesis. One compound of special interest found in the red yeast rice is monacolin K, same as the pharmaceutical drug mevinolin or lovastatin (the active ingredient in the prescription drug Mevacor).
So where can you find these supplements? Well, currently since the pharmaceutical manufacturer of Mevacor (Merck & Co., Inc) contends that it owns the rights to the ingredient lovastatin, it would be hard to find these supplements in the U.S.
The Food and Drug Administration recently asked two red yeast rice products manufacturer-- Sunburst Organics and Swanson Healthcare Products to withdraw their products from the market because they contained lovastatin. The FDA cited a risk of severe muscle problems that could lead to kidney disease.
Research published last year in the American Journal of Cardiology showed that heart attack patients in China who took a red yeast rice supplement daily were 45 percent less likely to have another attack within five years.
Though these findings seem like the light at the end of a tunnel for many patients on statin drugs that suffer from severe muscle pain as its side effect, much more research is needed.
Scientists are still not clear on the appropriate dosage of red yeast rice and whether there are any risks involved in taking it.
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