DXN MONASCUS
Monascus Purpureus: Cholesterol ControllerISO_Kosher_0_1_3_0_Monacolin
Red
yeast rice may be appealing because it’s “natural,” but you need to be careful.
Experts have not studied it extensively. The ideal dosing and long-term safety
are unclear. It could be dangerous for some people. And because the ingredients
of different brands of red yeast rice extract might vary so much, it’s hard to
make firm statements about its effectiveness or safety.
What Is Red Yeast Rice (Monascus)?
Red
yeast rice is a substance that’s extracted from rice that’s been fermented with
a type of yeast called Monascus purpureus. It’s been used in China and other
Asian countries for centuries as a traditional medicine. It’s also used as a
food coloring, additive, and preservative.
Red
yeast rice naturally contains several ingredients that may help control
cholesterol levels. These include a number of monacolins, most importantly
monacolin K. It also contains sterols, isoflavones, and monounsaturated fatty
acids, or “healthy fats.”
Is Red Yeast Rice a Drug or a Supplement?
Confusingly,
the answer is both. One of the most important ingredients in red yeast rice is
monacolin K. It’s also known as lovastatin, the active ingredient in the
prescription drug Mevacor.
So
on one hand, red yeast rice is a traditional remedy that helps lower
cholesterol. On the other, the pharmaceutical manufacturer of Mevacor argues
that it owns the rights to the ingredient lovastatin.
This
confusion extends to how the supplement is sold in the U.S. Because red yeast
rice contains a substance classified as a prescription drug, the FDA has
attempted to control its sale. In 2007, the FDA asked that three red yeast rice
products — Cholestrix by Sunburst Organics and two red yeast rice formulations
by Swanson Healthcare Products (Red Yeast Rice and Red Yeast Rice/Policosonal
Complex) — be withdrawn from the market because they contained lovastatin. The
FDA cited a risk of severe muscle problems that could lead to kidney disease.
Despite
the FDA’s attempts, many people in the U.S. still manage to get similar red
yeast rice extracts from other countries or the Internet.
How To Lower Cholesterol?
Studies
have shown that red yeast rice can significantly lower levels of total
cholesterol and specifically LDL, or “bad” cholesterol. One showed that taking
2.4 grams per day of red yeast rice reduced LDL levels by 22% and total
cholesterol by 16% in 12 weeks. Another study showed that taking 1.2 grams per
day lowered LDL levels by 26% in just eight weeks.
However,
the studies of red yeast rice have so far been fairly small and didn’t last
long enough to reveal the long-term effects.
What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking Red Yeast Rice (Monascus purpureus)?
Do
not take red yeast rice if you are allergic to it, or if you have a history of
liver disease.
Before
taking red yeast rice, talk to your doctor, pharmacist, herbalist, or other
healthcare provider. You may not be able to use this product if you have:
asthma
kidney
disease
a
serious infection, disease, or medical condition
if
you are pregnant
if
you have recently had surgery or an organ transplant; or
if
you drink more than 2 alcoholic beverages per day
Some
cholesterol-lowering medications can cause a condition that results in the
breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue, leading to kidney failure. Call a doctor
at once if you have unexplained muscle pain or tenderness, muscle weakness,
fever or flu symptoms, and dark colored urine.
Do
not take red yeast rice without telling your doctor if you are pregnant or plan
to become pregnant during treatment. Red yeast rice may be harmful to an unborn
baby.
It
is not known whether red yeast rice passes into breast milk or if it could harm
a nursing baby. Do not use this product without telling your doctor if you are
breast-feeding a baby.
Do
not give any herbal/health supplement to a child without the advice of a doctor.
Monascus
purpureus mold or fungus, review of research studies, cholesterol drug
combination
March 2 2014: Monascus purpureus is a species of
mold that is purplish-red in color used to make red yeast rice and certain
fermented foods in China and Japan. In Asian countries, red yeast rice is a
dietary staple and is used to make rice wine, as a flavoring agent, and to
preserve the flavor and color of fish and meat. There are other species of
monascus, including monascus pilosus.
Composition of red yeast rice
Red
yeast rice is a fermented product of rice on which red yeast Monascus purpureus
has been grown. Red Yeast Rice contains several compounds collectively known as
monacolins which block the formation of cholesterol. One of these compounds is
called monacolin K. It inhibits HMG-CoA reductase and is also known as
mevinolin or lovastatin. The product name for lovastatin is Mevacor, a
prescription drug manufactured by Merck and Co..
Monascus
purpureus fermented rice and prostate cancer cells
Chinese
red yeast rice versus lovastatin effects on prostate cancer cells with and
without androgen receptor overexpression.
J
Med Food. 2008: Chinese red yeast rice, a food herb made by fermenting Monascus
purpureus Went yeast on white rice, contains a mixture of eight different
monacolins that inhibit cholesterol formation and also red pigments with
antioxidant properties. Monacolin K is identical to lovastatin. Both lovastatin
and red yeast rice contain statins, which could inhibit de novo cholesterol
formation, which is critical to the growth of tumor cells. Our results suggest
that the red yeast rice matrix beyond monacolin alone may be bioactive in
inhibiting androgen-dependent and -independent prostate cancer growth. In vivo
studies are needed to further establish the potential advantages of red yeast
rice over lovastatin in prostate cancer chemoprevention and in the prevention
of the emergence of androgen independence.
Monascus purpureus fermented rice and bone health
Chinese
red yeast rice (Monascus purpureus fermented rice) promotes bone formation.
Chin
Med. 2008. Statin can induce the gene expression of bone morphogenetic
protein-2. Red yeast rice (Hongqu), i.e. rice fermented with Monascus
purpureus, contains a natural form of statin. This study demonstrates the
effects of Red yeast rice extract on bone formation. Red yeast rice extract
stimulated new bone formation in bone defects in vivo and increased bone cell
formation in vitro.
Isolation and Structural Characterization of Two New Metabolites from Monascus.
J
Agric Food Chem. 2009.: Two new pale yellow metabolites have been isolated from
commercially available Chinese food additive Red Monascus Pigment and from
Monascus ruber culture broth. They were isolated by successive TLC and
semipreparative HPLC. Their structural characterization was elucidated by a
variety of spectroscopic techniques and mass spectrometry. These two new
metabolites present numerous similarities with monascorubrin and
rubropunctatin. The new compounds, named monarubrin and rubropunctin, contain a
propenyl group on a pyrone ring, an alkyl side chain, but no gamma-lactone
ring. The new metabolites have the property of producing strong blue
fluorescence at 340 nm.
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