Effectiveness and safety of red yeast rice predominated by monacolin K β-hydroxy acid form for hyperlipidemia treatment and management.

Objective: To assess the lipid-lowering activity and safety of a dietary supplement containing monacolin K β-hydroxy acid form (MKA), Heye (), and Cangzhu (), compared to lifestyle modifications.

Methods: Totally 117 subjects with moderate to severe dyslipidemia (according to Chinese guidelines) and low CV risk were randomly assigned into three treatment groups: lifestyle modification (LM), LM plus a low dosage of MKA, LM plus a high dosage of MKA, and treated for 60 d. The primary endpoint was the reduction of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and total cholesterol (TC).