Quality and Authenticity Control of Functional Red Yeast Rice-A Review

Molecules. 2019 May 20;24(10):1944. doi: 10.3390/molecules24101944.

Abstract

Red yeast rice (RYR) is made by fermenting the rice with Monascus. It is commonly used in food colorants, dyeing, and wine making in China and its neighboring countries. Nowadays RYR has two forms on the market: common RYR is used for food products, the other form is functional RYR for medicine. However, some researchers reported that commercial lovastatin (structure is consistent with monacolin K) is illegally added to common RYR to meet drug quality standards, so as to imitate functional RYR and sell the imitation at a higher price. Based on current detection methods, it is impossible to accurately distinguish whether functional RYR is adulterated. Therefore, it is especially important to find a way to authenticate functional RYR. In the current review, the advances in history, applications, components (especially monacolins, monacolins detection methods), quality standards, authentication methods and perspectives for the future study of RYR are systematically reviewed.

Keywords: authentication methods; detection methods; functional RYR; monacolin K; quality standards.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Biological Products / chemistry
  • Biological Products / standards*
  • Biosynthetic Pathways
  • Lovastatin / analysis
  • Lovastatin / chemistry
  • Quality Control

Substances

  • Biological Products
  • red yeast rice
  • Lovastatin