Abstract

SILVA, Sara  and  XARA, Sónia. Red Yeast Rice in Hypercholesterolemia Treatment. Nutrícias [online]. 2013, n.19, pp.24-27. ISSN 2182-7230.

Cardiovascular Diseases are a major cause of mortality worldwide, being the hypercholesterolemia one of the major risk factors, therefore premature acting in its development and treatment becomes very important. An alternative treatment option to drugs is the Red Rice Yeast that results from the fermentation of rice with the Monascus spp fungus. This product has in its composition, in addition to other compounds, the monacolin K, also known as lovastatin which is capable of decreasing the biosynthesis of cholesterol and total cholesterol. Although being a natural product, it has the same contraindications, adverse effects, drug interactions and drug - nutrient that statins. The national and european legislation governing these products is scarce and insufficient, particularly in the standardization and quantification of sold doses, which allows the marketing of Red Rice Yeast supplements with different concentrations of monacolin K, which may compromise the desired biological effect.

Keywords : Red Yeast Rice; Monacolin K; Hypercholesterolemia.

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