Serious problems found with red yeast rice products.

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Serious problems found with red yeast rice products.

Laboratory studies of 12 red yeast rice products

have found that the amounts of presumed active

ingredients varied by more than 100-fold and thatfour products contained

significant levels of citrinin, a substance that is toxic to the kidneys of some

animals. The tests, conducted by ConsumerLab.com

(http://www.consumerlab.com/index.asp?claffid=101024) involved two products used

in clinical trials and 10 products marketed as dietary supplements. The

researchers also found that some of the

supplements provided as much of the cholesterol-lowering substances (monacolins)

as prescription medication and others contained very

little.

Red yeast rice contains several monacolins,

including monacolin K, the purified version of

which is the cholesterol-lowering statin compound

lovastatin (the active ingredient in the

Mevacor). Lovastatin is a very useful drug, but

it is not suitable for self-medication because

optimal cholesterol-control should be tailored to

individual risk factors and be medically

monitored.

The FDA has ordered at least eight

companies to stop marketing red yeast rice

products for cholesterol control. However, if no

drug claims are made, the Dietary Supplement

Health and Education Act of 1994 permits their

sale as " dietary supplements. "

The study's authors concluded that " Further oversight and

standardization of the production and labeling of

red yeast rice products may address some of the

concerns raised in this study. Until these issues

are addressed, physicians should be cautious in

recommending red yeast rice to their patients. "

[Gordon RY. and others. Marked variability of

monacolin levels in commercial red yeast rice

products: Buyer beware!

Archives of Internal Medicine 170:1722-1727, 2010]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20975018