Red yeast rice

Wild, D., Toth, G., and Humpf, H.-U., New Monascus metabolite isolated from red yeast rice (Angkak, Red Koji), J. Agric. Food Chem., 50, 3999, 2002. 

Martinez, L. et al.. Comparative effect of red yeast rice Monascus purpureas), red beet root (Beta vulgaris) and betanin (E-162) on colour and consumer acceptability of fresh pork sausages packaged in a modified atmosphere, J. Sci. Food Agric., 86, 500, 2006. 

Rhabdomyolysis in a stable renal transplant recipient was attributed to the presence of red yeast rice (Monascus purpureus) in a herbal mixture (116). The condition resolved when he stopped taking the product. Rice fermented with red yeast contains several types of mevinic acids, including monacolin-K, which is identical to lovas-tatin. The authors postulated that the interaction of ciclosporin with these compounds through cytochrome P450 had resulted in the adverse effect. Transplant recipients must be cautioned against using herbal products to lower their lipid concentrations, in order to prevent such complications. 

Prasad GV, Wong T, Meliton G, Bhaloo S. Rhabdomyolysis due to red yeast rice (Monascus purpur-eus) in a renal transplant recipient. Transplantation 2002 74(8) 1200-1. 

Red yeast rice has been a staple in Chinese medicine and cooking for centuries. It has been clinically proven to reduce LDL cholesterol. That makes sense, since red yeast rice is a natural source of the statin drug lovastatin, although products made from red yeast rice contain a much lower level of the substance. It s available in pharmacies and health food stores. 

More than two decades ago I began my search for ways to lower my own cholesterol levels and prevent an early death from heart disease. Certainly, the essential foundation of sueh a program had to include increased physical activity and a heart-healthy diet. But knowing that other factors entered into the cholesterol picture—notably, that the body makes 80 percent of all the cholesterol in the bloodstream—I realized that I needed something more than diet and exercise. My search led me to the soluble fibers in oat bran and other foods that actually flush out cholesterol and the vitamin niacin to stop the body s excessive production of it. Since that time, I ve found additional natural approaches to lowering cholesterol, including the plant sterols known as phytosterols, red yeast rice, and pantethine. 

Monascus spp. have been used as foods and medicines in the Orient for over 1000 years (Wong, 1982). In China and Taiwan, it has been called "Hong Qu," "Hon-Chi," "Anka," or "Ang-kak" using the Chinese or Taiwanese phonetic alphabet. The Japanese use the name "Beni Koji" or "red Koji." In the United States and Europe, it has been called "red rice," "red-mold rice," or "red Chinese rice." Many publications and commercial products use "red yeast rice," which is not an appropriate name for filamentous fungi. 

Heber, D., Lembertas, A., Lu, Q. Y., Bowerman, S., and Go, V. L. 2001. An analysis of nine proprietary Chinese red yeast rice dietary supplements Implications of variability in chemical profile and contents, f. Altern. Complement. Med. 7(2), 133-139. 

Jeon, T., Hwang, S. G., Hirai, S., Matsui, T., Yano, H., Kawada, T., Lim, B. O., and Park, D. K. 2004. Red yeast rice extracts suppress adipogenesis by down-regulating adipogenic transcription factors and gene expression in 3T3-L1 cells. Life Sci. 75(26), 3195-3203. 

Li, Y. G., Liu, H., and Wang, Z. T. 2005c. A validated stability-indicating HPLC with photodiode array detector (PDA) method for the stress tests of Monascus purpureus-fermented rice, red yeast rice. J. Pharm. Biomed. Anal. 39(1-2), 82-90. 

Wei, W., Lim, C., Wang, Y., Su, H., Zhu, J., and Kritchevsky, D. 2003. Hypolipidemic and anti-atherogenic effects of long-term Cholestin (Monascus purpureus-ferraented rice, red yeast rice) in cholesterol fed rabbits. /. Nutr. Biochem. 14(6), 314—318. 

Wigger-Alberti, W., Bauer, A., Hipler, U. C., and Eisner, P. 1999. Anaphylaxis due to Monascus purpuretis-fermeated rice (red yeast rice). Allergy 54(12), 1330-1331. 

Ciclosporin + Herbal medicines Red yeast rice (Monascus purpureas)... 

Red yeast rice has been reported to cause rhabdomyolysis in a kidney transplant patient taking ciclosporin. 

Cholesterol lowering medicines usually work by inhibiting the uptake of this compound or slowing down its synthesis in the liver. Herbs used for this purpose exert their effects in the same way. A decrease of 20-50% in cholesterol levels is the usual result of medical treatments, but this can be improved by a low-cholesterol diet and the use of some herbs and vegetables (artichoke or garUc). Red yeast rice is quite heavily advertised as a very effective and namral substance, and millions of people purchase these products. Red yeast rice is sold in dietary supplements and is not a listed medicine, which—most ironically—just adds to its popularity (Fig. 3.26). 

Red yeast rice has been known for a long time. Its first application was described in China during the Tang dynasty in the eighth century, but, needless to say, not as a cholesterol dmg. Red rice was used as a dye, spice and preservative in food, and during the production of rice wine to speed up fermentatioa In Southeast Asia, red yeast rice is still a common food. Records of some medical applications were found from the Ming dynasty (fourteenth to seventeenth century) from a medicine book that recommended it to help blood circulation and digestion. 

Lovastatin proved to be an effective and very popidar drug, but red yeast rice was not used for medical purposes for a long time. It was only discovered in the 1990s, at the dawn of the age of dietary supplements. Red yeast rice is relatively inexpensive. Marketing it as a dietary supplement rather than a medicine makes the approval process simpler and faster, and distribution is also more convenient than for drags which are only available in pharmacies by prescription. 

However, lovastatin and its derivatives may cause adverse effects. The most common side effect is muscle pain, and in the most severe cases, muscle damage may also develop. The monacolin K content of freely available red yeast rice products may lead to abuse (overdosage) resulting in health damage. This was the reason why all food supplements containing red yeast rice were removed from the USA market by the Food and Drag Administration in 2001. 

R. Y. Gordon, D. J. Becker (2011) The role of red yeast rice for the physician. Curr. Atheroscler. 

M. Klimek, S. Wang, A. Ogunkamni (2009) Safety and efficacy of red yeast rice (Monascus pur-pureus) as an alternative therapy for hyperlipidemia. Pharm. Therap., 34, 313 327. 

J. Liu, J. Zhang, Y. Shi, S. Grimsgaard, T. Alraek, V. Foimebo (2006) Chinese red yeast rice (Monascus purpureus) for primary hyperlipidemia a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Chin. Med., 1,4. 

Red yeast rice contains the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor lovastatin, which forms naturally when the rice yeast is fermented. Hence, its LDL cholesterol-lowering properties for the relatively low concentrations of lovastatin (around 5-10 mg when the rice is taken as 2 g bd) appear greater than can be accounted by the statin. In a study that lasted more than 12 weeks in 43 subjects who were intolerant of conventional statins, red yeast rice was compared with pravastatin 20 mg bd, the numbers who withdrew because of recurrence of myalgia were one and two respectively with the rice formulation and pravastatin [33. ... 

Halbert SC, French B, Gordon RY, Farrar JT, Schmitz K, Morris PB, Thompson PD, Rader DJ, Becker DJ. Tolerability of red yeast rice (2,400 mg twice daily) versus pravastatin (20 mg twice... 

Seven monacolins (e.g., monacolin K, dihydro-, dehyro-monacolin K, monacolin L) and three pigments (monascidin A, monascorubrine, monascorubramine) were isolated from red yeast rice and separated on a Cig column (A = 218nm and 237 nm) using a complex 32-min 80/20 —> 10/90 water (0.04% H3P04)/acetonitrile gradient [1221]. Excellent peak shapes and resolution were achieved. No concentrations were reported, but flie chromatogram shown was of a 0.5 g red yeast rice powder in 10 mL alcohol/water solvent and 0.01-0.2% w/w was conunonly found for the individual components. 

Monacolin K from red yeast rice and maintenance of normal LDL-cholesterol concentrations. 

Citrinin, also known as antimycin, or by its chemical name (3R,4S)-8-hydroxy-3,4,5-trimethyl-6-oxo-4,6-dihydro-3H-isochromene-7-carboxylic acid (12-99) can exist in two tautomeric forms. The quinoid form is normally present in neutral media and the tautomeric phenol form occurs in alkaline media. Citrinin is a secondary metabolite of fungi of the genera Aspergillus and Penidllium, especially of fungi P. dtrinum and P. verrucosum. Citrinin is the main contaminant of so-called yellow rice (see Section 12.3.1). In temperate climates it is found mainly in cereals, but data concerning its occurrence are limited. Citrinin has also been found in cheeses, sake and commercial red yeast rice supplements (see Section 9.7). 

Foodstuff Red yeast rice 1.91 1.96 meqTx Alvarez-Diduk... 

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