The modern application of lovastatin（Red Yeast Extract-Monacolin K）

With the development of modern science and technology, red currant has a wider application after many physiologically active substances have been discovered.

Red yeast can be divided into three categories according to its functional role: the first category is the red yeast for brewing, mainly plays the role of saccharifying agent; the second category is used as a coloring red yeast, there are solid fermentation production of red yeast rice and liquid fermentation production of red yeast red; the third category is the functional red yeast with functional ingredients.

I. Application of red yeast in food industry

The application of red yeast in food industry has been very common, like red yeast wine, red yeast candy, red yeast cookies, red yeast curd, red yeast noodles, red yeast vinegar, red yeast soy sauce, cooked meat products, seasoned canned food, etc., mainly as coloring with.

Therefore, the lovastatin content of red yeast is extremely unstable, sometimes 1g of red yeast contains 15mg of lovastatin, and some red yeast has no lovastatin at all, so it can only be used as pigment and cannot be used as medicine. Only after the professional preparation of red currant, can be used medicinally.

Second, the application of red yeast in the cosmetic industry

Mainly through the addition of red yeast extract to makeup, the antioxidant substances in red yeast can scavenge free radicals in the body and play an anti-aging role, and are used in the cosmetic industry to make lipstick, facial masks, essential oils, cleansing creams, essence lotions, etc. In Taiwan, there are hundreds of cosmetic products containing red yeast.

Third, the application of red yeast in agriculture

With the substantial improvement in human living standards, people have higher requirements for animal food such as cholesterol content in eggs. 1980 researchers found that cholesterol in food and cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes have a close relationship, the health department recommended that people's daily intake of cholesterol in the diet should be reduced to less than 300mg. Therefore, the development of low-cholesterol eggs has received a lot of attention and has become a hot spot for research in many countries around the world.

Various methods have been tested at home and abroad, such as selecting and breeding chicken breeds, adjusting diets, using additives and improving feeding management, among which the use of feed additives is one of the effective methods. Livestock researchers in the United States, Canada and Japan have added red currant to the feed, and the cholesterol content of eggs is significantly reduced, up to 66.6% lower than that of ordinary eggs.

Low-cholesterol eggs can ensure nutrition while reducing the cholesterol content of intake, which will be more popular for people in the modern pursuit of healthy food.

Fourth, the application of red yeast in the field of pharmaceutical and health products

1. Red Yeast in the application of lipid-regulating health products and drugs

Monacolin in red yeast has the effect of inhibiting the synthesis of cholesterol in human body, which can be used as health care products and drugs for the prevention and treatment of high blood lipid diseases. In China, lipid-lowering drugs and health care products such as "Lipitor", "Blood Lipid Kang" and "Penma Red Yeast Capsules" have been produced.

The real lipid-lowering substance Mevinolinic Acid (known as "Acid Monacolin K") in red yeast has unique advantages compared with chemically synthesized statin drugs, which can directly exert lipid-lowering effects without the hydroxylate esterase in human body. This acidic monacolin K is only found in a few naturally fermented red yeast rice.

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Since most of the lipid-lowering substances in naturally fermented red yeast rice are already in acidic structure, i.e. acidic Monacolin K, they no longer need hydroxyl esterase in human body to participate in hydrolysis, so they do not increase the burden on liver and kidney, and can directly exert lipid-lowering effects, therefore, the lipid-lowering effect is better than Lovastatin (lovastatin), and the toxic side effects are less than Lovastatin.

Because of the risk of rhabdomyolysis, liver enzyme abnormalities and risk of hemorrhagic stroke when taking western statins, some patients are afraid of taking statins. Therefore, some patients are afraid of taking statins and wish to replace them with other drugs. Red currant is not metabolized by the liver, has few side effects, and is safe to use, making it the first choice for patients.

2. Role of red yeast in anti-Alzheimer's medicine and health care products

Recent studies have shown that red yeast has a significant effect on the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Some studies reveal that monacolin-like substances and other antioxidant components in red yeast rice have a synergistic protective effect on the neurotoxicity of Aβ40, and red yeast rice has the potential to become a new functional health food for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

Red yeast can also be used to develop pharmaceutical and healthcare products for the prevention of atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, hypertension, diabetes, anti-inflammation, anti-cancer, and anti-fatigue.