Fermented red rice helps reduce cardiovascular risk in patients already suffering from heart attack

Red rice: reduces the risk of heart problems in patients already suffering from heart attack

Monacolin K, a component of fermented red rice, has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system of patients who have had a heart attack. In particular, long-term treatment with this compound appears to be able to lower cholesterol and triglycerides and reduce the risk of recurrence and mortality.

This is the result of a study conducted, in 2008, on the Chinese population, through the collaboration of researchers from Peking University (China) and Philadelphia University (USA), and published in The American Journal of Cardiology.

Monacolin K: a component of fermented red rice

Fermented red rice is obtained from the fermentation of common cooking rice by a special yeast called Monascus purpureus or red yeast. Extracts of fermented red rice have been widely used to treat patients with circulatory disorders in China for centuries. In fact, fermented red rice contains numerous substances called monacolins. Of these, monacolin K is the best known and most studied and, as indicated by clinical studies, is able to regulate cholesterol concentration. As approved by the European Commission, daily intake of 10 mg of monacolin K contributes to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels. The 'intake of this extract can also be through supplements, such as Cardiol and Cardiol forte; both contain monacolin K, as well as CoQ10, vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, and polyphenols.

The group that had taken monacolin K showed a lower risk of cardiovascular events

The study involved nearly 5,000 Chinese patients, with average cholesterol levels, who were randomly assigned a placebo or a supplementcontaining 5-6 mg of monacolin K and other natural ingredients (plant sterols and isoflavones), twice daily, every day for 4.5 years. Analysis of the results showed that the frequencies of heart attack (nonfatal) and death from coronary artery disease were 10.4% in the placebo group and 5.7% in the group treated with fermented rice extract, with decreases of 4.7% and 45%, respectively. Monacolin K treatment had also significantly decreased cardiovascular events and total mortality by 30% and 33%. In addition, the results showed that patients who had taken the rice extract had significantly reduced concentrations of LDL, the so-called bad cholesterol, total cholesterol and triglycerides, throughout the duration of the study. The same patients had also shown an increase in HDL good cholesterol.

Better results than with statins

According to the researchers who conducted the study, these results show that long-term monacolin K therapy can significantly decrease the occurrence of new cardiovascular events and deaths. The results appear to exceed those reported with statins, a popular group of drugs for cholesterol control, but with which harmful side effects are often associated. The strength of this study, again according to the authors, is precisely that it highlighted the beneficial properties on the Asian population of a safe and well-tolerated product.   

Source: Zongliang Lu, Wenrong Kou, Baomin Du, Yangfeng Wu, Shuiping Zhao, Osvaldo A. Brusco, John M. Morgan, David M. Capuzzi, Chinese Coronary Secondary Prevention Study Group, Li S. "Effect of Xuezhikang, an Extract From Red Yeast Chinese Rice, on Coronary Events in a Chinese Population With Previous Myocardial Infarction" Am J Cardiol 2008; 101:1689 -1693