The main ingredient of Red Yeast Rice Extract Powder is Monascus. It is a general term for products made from solid fermentation of rice. It is a traditional Chinese fermented product; after the 18th century, it was used to produce Okinawa-style fermented tofu in Japan. In recent years, large-scale commercial production of monascus using traditional solid fermentation has become possible. During the fermentation process, a variety of beneficial substances have been discovered, such as a substance with natural lipid-lowering activity-Monacrine K, a metabolite of Monascus . This article systematically reviewed the edible history of red yeast rice, introduced its production methods, uses and pharmacologically active ingredients; mainly reviewed the beneficial effects of red yeast rice in improving lipid metabolism and circulatory system and its safety as a functional food Sexual evidence. Studies have shown that red yeast rice has better efficacy and safety, and has higher medicinal value.
1. Red yeast extract combined with probiotics may improve hypercholesterolemia
Red yeast rice has a good auxiliary effect in lowering blood lipids, and many probiotics also have the potential to lower blood lipids. Then, what is the effect of their combined effect?
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluated the combined effects of red yeast rice extract (RYR, containing 10 mg of monacrine K) and 109 CFU of mixed probiotics (CECT7527, CECT7528, and CECT7529). The trial recruited 39 adult hypercholesterolemia patients (total cholesterol (TC) ≥ 200 mg/dL) who had not recently used statins or statin intolerance, and the intervention period was 12 weeks.
The results showed: 1. Compared with the placebo group, the total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) of the experimental group were significantly reduced; 2. Compared with the pre-intervention, the experimental group participants The levels of LDL-C, TC, and triglycerides were significantly reduced, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was significantly increased, while there was no significant change in the placebo group. 3. No adverse events occurred during the intervention period.
2. Improving effect of red yeast rice extract and monascus pigment fermented by SHM1105 strain on hyperlipidemia
This study observed the effects of red yeast rice (RYR) and monascus pigment (PIG) fermented by SHM1105 strain on blood lipids, intestinal flora and liver transcriptome of hyperlipidemia model rats. SHM1105 (CGMCC No.15369) is a strain that can obtain high yields of monacrine K and monascus pigment (PIG) when fermenting red yeast rice. It has been used in the production of functional red yeast rice (RYR) extracts.
Although there have been a lot of researches on the lipid-lowering components of red yeast rice and the single pigment component of red yeast rice, the actual application is a mixture of red yeast rice and red yeast rice pigment. The mixture of monascus pigment contains a variety of biologically active components, and each component may have a synergistic effect. Therefore, it may have a lipid-lowering mechanism that lovastatin does not have.