Taking a dietary supplement made of red yeast rice extract, policosanol, and artichoke leaf extract can effectively lower low density lipoprotein cholesterol,
according to a study in European Journal of Nutrition.
E.Barrat from Department of Research, Laboratoire Lescuyer in Aytré Cedex, France and colleagues conducted the small trial and found both a low dose and a high dose of the dietary supplement was effective in lowering LDL cholesterol, compared with the placebo.
Red yeast rice contains a naturally occurring statin and it is known to be as effective as statins in lowering LDL cholesterol, according to early studies.
The current study was intended to examine whether a high dose of the dietary supplement would be more effective in lowering cholesterol.
In the randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 15 participants were given 6 tablets per day of the dietary supplement and another 15 participants 3 tablets per day, which was normally recommended, for four weeks. Both groups were compared with 15 individuals who took a placebo as controls for blood lipid profiles and safety biomarkers. All participants had untreated hypercholesterolaemia at baseline.
At the end of the 4-week supplementation, both study groups of participants who received different doses of the dietary supplements reduced LDL cholesterol by 0.21 to 0.25 g/L, which was not significantly different in both groups from a statistic viewpoint.
The dietary supplement was found to have no effect on triacylglycerol and HDL cholesterol.
In terms of the safety of this dietary supplement, the researchers reported " T he muscle breakdown biomarkers, as well as biomarkers of liver and renal function, were altered by neither dose of the DS (dietary supplement). Acute application of the DS on permeabilised skeletal muscle fibres of rats did not induce deleterious effects on mitochondrial function." T his means that the dietary supplement is safe to use.
One concern about statins is its damage to the muscle. T his study shows the dietary supplement does not damage the muscle.
T he researchers concluded "Supplementation with twice the recommended dose of the DS (dietary supplement) was effective in reducing LDL-cholesterol and appeared safe, but according to the present results, no additional benefit could be achieved compared to the recommended dose."
LDL cholesterol is believed to be associated with cardiovascular disease, which can be completely avoided by following a plant-based diet, Dr. Colin T . Campbell, a distinguished nutrition professor at Cornell University says in his book China Study.
