Cholesterol-lowering effects of a proprietary Chinese red-yeast-rice dietary supplement.
BACKGROUND
We examined the cholesterol-lowering effects of a proprietary Chinese red-yeast-rice supplement in an American population consuming a diet similar to the American Heart Association Step I diet using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, prospectively randomized 12-wk controlled trial at a university research center.


OBJECTIVE
We evaluated the lipid-lowering effects of this red-yeast-rice dietary supplement in US adults separate from effects of diet alone.


METHODS
Eighty-three healthy subjects (46 men and 37 women aged 34-78 y) with hyperlipidemia [total cholesterol, 5.28-8.74 mmol/L (204-338 mg/dL); LDL cholesterol, 3.31-7.16 mmol/L (128-277 mg/dL); triacylglycerol, 0.62-2.78 mmol/L (55-246 mg/dL); and HDL cholesterol 0.78-2.46 mmol/L (30-95 mg/dL)] who were not being treated with lipid-lowering drugs participated. Subjects were treated with red yeast rice (2.4 g/d) or placebo and instructed to consume a diet providing 30% of energy from fat, <10% from saturated fat, and <300 mg cholesterol daily. Main outcome measures were total cholesterol, total triacylglycerol, and HDL and LDL cholesterol measured at weeks 8, 9, 11, and 12.


RESULTS
Total cholesterol concentrations decreased significantly between baseline and 8 wk in the red-yeast-rice-treated group compared with the placebo-treated group [(x+/-SD) 6.57+/-0.93 mmol/L (254+/-36 mg/dL) to 5.38+/-0.80 mmol/L (208+/-31 mg/dL); P < 0.001]. LDL cholesterol and total triacylglycerol were also reduced with the supplement. HDL cholesterol did not change significantly.


CONCLUSIONS
Red yeast rice significantly reduces total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and total triacylglycerol concentrations compared with placebo and provides a new, novel, food-based approach to lowering cholesterol in the general population.
Heber
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Center for Human Nutrition, Department of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1742, USA. dheber@med1.medsch.ucla.edu
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D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001688:Biological Products; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000009:adverse effects; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000097:blood / Q000178:diet therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009281:Naphthalenes / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012275:Oryza / Q000382:microbiology*; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011506:Proteins / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013213:Starch / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D015003:Yeasts