Dr. Tzu-Ming Pan is an Emeritus Professor of Biotechnology at the National Taiwan University in Taipei. His research over many years focused on beneficial molecules produced by Monascus and many other plants and bacteria. His lab identified a strain of Monascus that did not make monacolin K, yet surprisingly was able to reduce LDL cholesterol in animal models.
Figure 4. The Monascus strain used to make Ankascin (A), and the chemical structures of Monascin (B) and Ankaflavin (C).
After several years of work, Dr. Pan and his group isolated two molecules from red yeast rice that were responsible for this cholesterol lowering effect. These molecules, named monascin and ankaflavin, are chemically very similar (see Figure 4), suggesting that they function in similar or complementary cellular pathways. In fact, they turned out to have other remarkable properties: not only could monascin and ankaflavin lower LDL cholesterol levels in the blood, they also helped in the management of blood pressure, blood sugar, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Pan’s group and others have published almost 100 research papers in the last 10 years that reported these findings. The red yeast rice extract they produced was called Ankascin 568-R. It is enriched with monascin and ankaflavin, and its safety and efficacy have been demonstrated in several clinical trials for different treatment conditions.
This data led to the inclusion of Ankascin in the FDA’s list of New Dietary Ingredients that are reasonably expected to be safe14. It also received approval for sale by Health Canada’s Natural and Non-Prescription Health Products Directorate. As a supplement that is free of both monacolin K and citrinin, it is safe and effective for both short and long term use.
NOT ONLY COULD MONASCIN AND ANKAFLAVIN LOWER LDL CHOLESTEROL LEVELS IN THE BLOOD, THEY ALSO HELPED IN THE MANAGEMENT OF BLOOD PRESSURE, BLOOD SUGAR, AND ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE.
Dr. Anjan Nibber sheds some light on a rare disease, garnering some publicity, and offers a lesson about brain health in this week’s blog… In 2011 the world mourned the death of Knut the polar bear, who had stolen the hearts of everyone who had visited the Berlin Zoo or who had followed his high profile career of modeling alongside celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio. In 2012, Sussanah Calahan released her memoir Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, which chronicled her struggle with NMDA receptor mediated-encephalitis. It was soon discovered that the same disease that Sussanah Calahan wrote about was
THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY Red yeast rice is a brick-red power food with medicinal properties and a long history. It is made by fermenting cooked white rice with a species of mold from the Monascus family, then drying the product and grinding it into a fine powder. Red yeast rice has been a staple of Traditional Chinese Medicine and a food source for over a thousand years. In addition to the vibrant color and rich flavour, Monascus adds many beneficial molecules to the rice.One of the most important additions is monacolin K, and it became the first drug
In my first blog post with AOR, I thought I would jump in with both feet and talk about a recent study funded by the National Institute of Health concerning a supplement that helps teens kick their pot habit. The supplement used in the study was N-acetylcysteine or NAC for short. The study found that adolescents diagnosed with marijuana dependence were twice as likely to remain abstinent when they received NAC vs placebo, in addition to counseling. The study was conducted over eight weeks and found that 44% of adolescents assigned to take 1200 mg of NAC twice per day
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