More Evidence that Chinese Red Yeast Rice Has
Stunning Ability to Prevent Heart Attacks
Latest study in American Journal of Cardiology says
cancer mortality also reduced by two-thirds, all mortality one-third
June
9, 2008 A study released today joins a steady flow in the last ten
years that indicate Chinese red yeast rice has a stunning ability to
protect against heart attacks. The latest report found a partially
purified extract of the rice, known as Xuezhikang (XZK), reduced the
risk of a repeat heart attack by 45% in patients who had already
suffered one attack. It also claims cancer mortality risk was reduced by
two-thirds and total mortality by one-third.
This clinical study also found that among these
heart patients there was also a one-third reduction in revascularization
(bypass surgery/angioplasty) and cardiovascular mortality. These results
are published in the June 15 edition of the American Journal of
Cardiology.
The multicenter, randomized, double-blind study,
was conducted on almost 5,000 patients, ranging in age from 18-70 over a
five-year period at over 60 hospitals in the People's Republic of China.
In 1999, researchers examined the
cholesterol-lowering effects of a Chinese red yeast rice supplement in
an American population consuming a diet similar to the American Heart
Association Step I diet. They concluded, 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,
according to a report at the National Center for Biotechnology
Information,
click here
This new report is by corresponding author David M.
Capuzzi, M.D., Ph.D, director of the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
Program at Jefferson's Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine and
Zonliang Lu, M.D., Ph.D, from the Fuwai Hospital at the Chinese Academy
of Medical Science.
"It's very exciting because this is a natural
product and had very few adverse side effects including no abnormal
blood changes," said Capuzzi.
"People in the Far East have been taking Chinese
red yeast rice as food for thousands of years, but no one has ever
studied it clinically in a double-blind manner with a purified product
against a placebo group until now and we are pleased with the results.
However, people in the United States should know
that the commercially available over-the-counter supplement found in
your average health food store is not what was studied here.
Those over-the-counter supplements are not
regulated, so exact amounts of active ingredient are unknown and their
efficacy has not been studied yet."
The study looked at patients who had suffered a
heart attack in the previous year. Study participants were given
two-300-milligram XZK capsules or a placebo and tracked over a five-year
period. The XZK capsules contained a combination of lovastatin,
lovastatin hydroxyl acid, ergosterol and other components.
"I think it is surprising that a natural product
like XZK would have this great an effect," said Capuzzi.
"If further testing and study prove true, my hope
is that XZK becomes an important therapeutic agent to treat
cardiovascular disorders and in the prevention of disease whether
someone has had a heart attack or not.
But it is important to recognize the fact we do
not know exactly how Chinese red yeast rice works. The exact ingredients
from the XZK capsules have not been isolated and studied yet. Still the
results were so profound, even out performing statins prescribed in
numerous western populations, that further study should certainly be
investigated."
The study was sponsored by Beijing Peking
University WBL Biotech Co. Ltd (WPU), in Beijing, People's Republic of
China. Dr. Capuzzi has no financial interest in this company.
More About
Chinese Red Yeast Rice
Uses based on scientific evidence from Mayo
Clinic
High cholesterol
Since the 1970s, human studies have reported that
red yeast lowers blood levels of total cholesterol, low-density
lipoprotein/LDL ("bad cholesterol"), and triglyceride levels. Other
products containing red yeast rice extract can still be purchased,
mostly over the Internet. However, these products may not be
standardized and effects are not predictable. For lowering cholesterol,
there is better evidence for using prescription drugs such as lovastatin.
Coronary heart disease
Preliminary evidence shows that taking Monascus
purpureus by mouth may result in cardiovascular benefits and improve
blood flow. Additional study is needed before a firm recommendation can
be made.
Diabetes
Early human evidence suggests the potential for
benefits in diabetics. Additional study is needed before a firm
recommendation can be made.
The botanical dietary supplement Monascus
Purpureus Went yeast or Chinese red yeast rice contains a family of
monacolins (polyketides) with the ability to inhibit cholesterol
synthesis and lower plasma cholesterol levels independent of diet. One
of the monacolins (Monacolin K) is identical in chemical structure to
Lovastatin, which is widely sold as a prescription cholesterol-lowering
drug, but the other monacolins in this botanical supplement may also
have cholesterol-lowering activity. Evidence of the activity of multiple
components of this yeast clearly will differentiate this product as a
dietary supplement rather than a drug.
>> More from UCLA Center for Human Nutrition,
click here
CNN report in 1999
>> Report by CNN in 1999 on tests of Cholestin,
which contains red yeast rice. It was banned by FDA at one point,
because it was considered a drug. This was later reversed.
Click here
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June
9, 2008 A study released today joins a steady flow in the last ten
years that indicate Chinese red yeast rice has a stunning ability to
protect against heart attacks. The latest report found a partially
purified extract of the rice, known as Xuezhikang (XZK), reduced the
risk of a repeat heart attack by 45% in patients who had already
suffered one attack. It also claims cancer mortality risk was reduced by
two-thirds and total mortality by one-third.
Study important because it suggests that resveratrol
and caloric restriction may govern the same master genetic pathways
related to aging