title: Acute administration of red yeast rice (Monascus purpureus) depletes tissue coenzyme Q(10) levels in ICR mice.
abstract: In this study, we attempted to evaluate the effect of administration of a high quantity of red yeast rice on coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) synthesis in the tissues of ICR mice. Eighty-eight adult male ICR mice were housed and divided into control and experimental groups for red yeast rice treatment. Animals were gavaged with a low (1 g/kg body weight) or a high dose (5 g/kg body weight, approximately five times the typical recommended human dose) of red yeast rice dissolved in soyabean oil. After gavagement, animals of the control group were immediately killed; mice of the experimental groups (eight for each subgroup) were killed at different time intervals of 0.5, 1, 1.5, 4 and 24 h. The liver, heart and kidney were taken for analysis of monacolin K (liver only) and CoQ10 analysis. Liver and heart CoQ10 levels declined dramatically in both groups administered red yeast rice, especially in the high-dose group, within 30 min. After 24 h, the levels of hepatic and cardiac CoQ10 were still reduced. A similar trend was also observed in the heart, but the inhibitory effect began after 90 min. The higher dose of red yeast rice presented a greater suppressive effect than did the lower dose on tissue CoQ10 levels. In conclusion, acute red yeast rice gavage suppressed hepatic and cardiac CoQ10 levels in rodents; furthermore, the inhibitory effect was responsive to the doses administered.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Science, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hui-Ting
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Shyh-Hsiang
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Shih-Yi
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Hsin-Ju
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Chou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001203:Ascomycota; D001688:Biological Products / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003067:Coenzymes; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008148:Lovastatin / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism; D014451:Ubiquinone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products; D003067:Coenzymes; C117343:red yeast rice; D014451:Ubiquinone; D008148:Lovastatin; C024989:coenzyme Q10