Life-saving medicine or harmful poison, what exactly is the red yeast rice that has become a hot topic?

Red yeast rice, a fermented product with a long history, is mainly produced by fermentation with microorganisms of the genus Monascus. Its main products are red yeast rice, brewed red yeast rice, red yeast rice wine, red yeast rice pigment, etc. Among them, brewed red yeast rice is made from rice, wheat, wheat and other grains, inoculated with Monascus purpurogenus for fermentation and culture. The product is red solid particles, and is mainly used as a starter for products such as rice wine, vinegar, and fermented bean curd.

Red yeast rice is a food additive made from rice using fermentation and culture of Monascus purpurogenum. It is in the form of red granules (or powder made from granules).

Monascus red is a food additive produced by using liquid culture medium with rice and soybean as main raw materials, which is fermented in liquid state by Monascus, extracted, concentrated and refined; or it is produced by using red yeast rice as raw material, which is extracted, concentrated and refined.

Functional Red Yeast

Red yeast rice products contain a variety of pigment ingredients. Depending on the wavelength of the maximum absorbed light, these pigments can appear red, orange and yellow. They can be used to color food and meat products. In addition, red yeast rice products have a variety of health benefits. The active ingredients in red yeast rice include Monacolin K (also known as lovastatin), a substance that lowers blood cholesterol and is beneficial to cardiovascular health. Different strains of Monascus have different abilities to produce pigments and lovastatin. In addition, red yeast rice has a variety of effects such as lowering blood sugar, lowering blood pressure, anti-oxidation, anti-bacteria, and anti-tumor.

Monascus products have many benefits, but some Monascus will produce natural toxins that may cause some adverse reactions, such as abnormal liver function, hepatitis, cirrhosis, etc. Therefore, national standards such as the "National Food Safety Standard Food Additives" stipulate the limit standards for fungal toxins such as citrinin in Monascus products. Monascus products that meet the relevant product requirements can be safely consumed and used.

Author | Wang Xu (Senior Laboratory Technician, Chinese Society of Microbiology)

Audit Expert | Zheng Yu (Professor of School of Bioengineering, Tianjin University of Science and Technology)

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