Eating red yeast rice may lower cholesterol

In a small randomized controlled trial, carried out by physicians at Chestnut Hill Hospital in Flourtown, Pa., a commercially available nonprescription red yeast rice product showed significant cholesterol-lowering effects.

Available at pharmacies and health-food stores, this centuries-old natural product may provide alternative treatment to patients who experience side effects of standard cholesterol-lowering medications, the study suggests.

Study details
Lead researcher David Becker, M.D. of Chestnut Hill Hospital and colleagues recruited 62 patients who were at risk of heart attack or stroke because of their abnormally high levels of low-density lipo-protein (LDL) cholesterol or "bad" cholesterol.

The novel study suggests that taking red yeast rice capsules might help prevent heart attack and stroke, especially for patients who cannot tolerate therapeutic statin doses. Side effects of muscle pain and weakness make these cholesterol lowering drugs intolerable.

All the study participants had hyperlipidemia and a history of stopping statins, the standard care for lowering LDL cholesterol, because of its severe side effects, including muscle pain and weakness.

Researchers divided the study volunteers into two groups- half were assigned to receive 1,800 mg of red yeast rice twice daily for 24 weeks and half to placebo.

What the study found
After testing both groups at 12 weeks and again at 24 weeks, the research team found that cholesterol levels improved more in the group taking red yeast rice. Patients on the red yeast rice supplement showed significant improvement in LDL (bad), and total cholesterol.

"In the group that took red yeast rice, the average drop in cholesterol was 43 points at 12 weeks," said study co-author Dr. Ram Y. Gordon, a cardiologist in private practice. "The drop in the placebo group was only 11 points. In the longer run, the drop was 35 versus 15 points. We think the difference narrowed because after 12 weeks we told people to keep on doing it, but maybe some stopped."

However, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) count, or "good" cholesterol levels, triglycerides, liver enzymes, creatinine phosphokinase, weight loss, and pain severity scores were not different in the two groups.

Although the red yeast rice supplements, which have been used in China for more than a millennium, may provide an alternative treatment for dyslipidemic patients who cannot tolerate statin therapy, but the study authors warned that taking these supplements without a physician's advice could be unsafe.

The study authors said that "a larger, multicenter trial with longer follow-up is needed to determine whether red yeast rice offers a safe and effective solution for this unmet medical need and to evaluate its effects on cardiovascular outcomes."

Becker and colleagues reported their findings in the June 16 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

About red yeast rice
Red yeast rice comes from yeast (Monascus purpureus) that is grown on rice. This bright reddish purple fermented rice, which acquires its colour from being cultivated with the mold Monascus purpureus, is served as a dietary staple in some Asian countries.

Known as Zhi Tai it its powdered form, it is sold as Xue Zhi Kang in a tincture form, and is sold over the counter as Cholestin TM. It has also been used in Chinese herbal medicine. It is sold as an over the counter dietary supplement for controlling cholesterol.