TY  - JOUR
A1  - Heinz, Tina
A1  - Schuchardt, Jan Philipp
A1  - Schuchardt, Jan Philipp
A1  - Möller, Katharina
A1  - Hadji, Peyman
A1  - Hahn, Andreas
T1  - Low daily dose of 3 mg monacolin K from RYR reduces the concentration of LDL-C in a randomized, placebo-controlled intervention
T2  - Nutrition research
N2  - Hypercholesterolemia and elevated homocysteine concentrations are associated with cardiovascular risk. Previous studies have demonstrated a cholesterol-lowering effect of red yeast rice (RYR) supplements which contained 5 to 10 mg of monacolin K. We hypothesized that the intake of a low monacolin K dose may likewise reduce low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and other plasma lipids. In secondary analyses, we tested the homocysteine lowering effect of folic acid, which was also included in the study preparation. Therefore, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled intervention study. One hundred forty-two nonstatin-treated participants with hypercholesterolemia (LDL-C ≥ 4.14 ≤ 5.69 mmol/L) were randomized to the supplement group with RYR or the placebo group. Participants of the supplement group consumed 3 mg monacolin K and 200 μg folic acid per day. A significant (P < .001) reduction of LDL-C (-14.8%), total cholesterol (-11.2%), and homocysteine (-12.5%) was determined in the supplement group after 12 weeks. A total of 51% of the participants treated with RYR achieved the limit of LDL-C <4.14 mmol/L advised and 26% reached the threshold level of homocysteine <10 μmol/L. No significant changes were exhibited within the placebo group. Other parameters remained unchanged and no intolerances or serious adverse events were observed. In conclusion, we demonstrated that a low dose of daily 3 mg monacolin K from RYR reduces the concentration of LDL-C; a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.
KW  - LDL-cholesterol
KW  - Red yeast rice
KW  - Monacolin K
KW  - Homocysteine
KW  - Folic acid
Y1  - 2016
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/42081
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-420814
SN  - 0271-5317
SN  - 1879-0739
N1  - © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CCBY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
VL  - 36
IS  - 10
SP  - 1162
EP  - 1170
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - New York, NY
ER  -