RED ALERT: Study Finds Chinese Food Good for Your Heart
A
clinical study on patients who have suffered a heart attack found that
a partially purified extract of Chinese red yeast rice, Xuezhikang
(XZK), reduced the risk of repeat heart attacks by 45%,
revascularization (bypass surgery/angioplasty), cardiovascular
mortality and total mortality by one-third and cancer mortality by
two-thirds. The multicenter, randomized, double-blind study, was
conducted on almost 5,000 patients, ranging in age from 18-70 over a
five-year period at over 60 hospitals in the People’s Republic of
China. Corresponding author David M. Capuzzi, M.D., Ph.D, director of
the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Program at Jefferson’s Myrna
Brind Center of Integrative Medicine and Zonliang Lu, M.D., Ph.D, from
the Fuwai Hospital at the Chinese Academy of Medical Science report
their findings in the June 15th edition of the American Journal of Cardiology.
“It’s
very exciting because this is a natural product and had very few
adverse side effects including no abnormal blood changes,” said
Capuzzi. “People in the Far East have been taking Chinese red yeast
rice as food for thousands of years, but no one has ever studied it
clinically in a double-blind manner with a purified product against a
placebo group until now and we are pleased with the results. However,
people in the United States should know that the commercially available
over-the-counter supplement found in your average health food store is
not what was studied here. Those over-the-counter supplements are not
regulated, so exact amounts of active ingredient are unknown and their
efficacy has not been studied yet.”
The
study looked at patients who had suffered a heart attack in the
previous year. Study participants were given two-300-milligram XZK
capsules or a placebo and tracked over a five-year period. The XZK
capsules contained a combination of lovastatin, lovastatin hydroxyl
acid, ergosterol and other components.
“I
think it is surprising that a natural product like XZK would have this
great an effect,” said Capuzzi. “If further testing and study prove
true, my hope is that XZK becomes an important therapeutic agent to
treat cardiovascular disorders and in the prevention of disease whether
someone has had a heart attack or not. But it is important to recognize
the fact we do not know exactly how Chinese red yeast rice works. The
exact ingredients from the XZK capsules have not been isolated and
studied yet. Still the results were so profound, even out performing
statins prescribed in numerous western populations, that further study
should certainly be investigated.”
The study was sponsored by Beijing Peking University WBL Biotech Co. Ltd (WPU), in Beijing, People’s Republic of China. Dr.
Capuzzi has no financial interest in this company.
Media Only Contact:
Richard Cushman
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Phone: (215) 955-6300
Published: 6/9/2008