Natural Remedies & Herbs for High Cholesterol

Researchers have determined that one of the ingredients in red yeast rice, called monacolin K, inhibits the production of cholesterol by stopping the action of the key enzyme in the liver (i.e., HMG-CoA reductase) that is responsible for manufacturing cholesterol. The drug lovastatin (Mevacor®) acts in a fashion similar to this red-yeast-rice ingredient. However, the amount per volume of monacolin K in red yeast rice is small (0.2% per 5 mg) when compared to the 20 to 40 mg of lovastatin available as a prescription drug.

The red yeast rice used in various studies was a proprietary product called Cholestin®, which contains ten different monacolins.

Note: Cholestin has been banned in the United States, as a result of a lawsuit alleging patent infringement.

Other red yeast rice products currently on the market differ from Cholestin in their chemical makeup. None contain the full complement of ten monacolin compounds that are present in Cholestin, and some contain a potentially toxic fermentation product called citrinin. Despite these concerns, other red yeast rice products are being widely used and anecdotal reports suggest that they have a similar safety and efficacy profile as that of Cholestin...