Testing the Short-Term Efficacy of a Lipid-Lowering Nutraceutical in the Setting of Clinical Practice: A Multicenter Study.
The main guidelines for cardiovascular disease prevention suggest that nutraceuticals could be an efficacious tool to improve lipid pattern. Our aim was to carry out a clinical trial comparing the metabolic effects of a combined nutraceutical containing both red yeast rice and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and a phytosterol-based approach in a setting of clinical practice. This was a multicenter open study with parallel control. We consecutively enrolled 107 pharmacologically untreated subjects affected by primary polygenic hypercholesterolemia and metabolic syndrome, assigned to 8-week treatment with a combined treatment with red yeast rice (Dif1Stat(®), including 5 mg monacolin K) and 610 mg PUFAs. A parallel group of 30 subjects with similar characteristics was treated with phytosterols 1600 mg/die. In the combined nutraceutical group, compared with the baseline level, we observed a significant decrease in total cholesterol (TC; -42.50 ± 18.1 mg/dL), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; -37.6 ± 13.6 mg/dL), triglycerides (TG; -19.8 ± 25.1 mg/dL), and non-HDL-C (-43.1 ± 17.7 mg/dL) (all P < .001). In the phytosterol-treated group, compared to the baseline level, we observed a significant decrease in TC (-13.7 ± 4.3 mg/dL), LDL-C (-17.6 ± 8.5 mg/dL), and non-HDL-C (-14.1 ± 5.6 mg/dL) (all P < .001). When comparing the combined nutraceutical effect with that of phytosterols, we observed that the combined nutraceutical intake was associated with a significantly higher decrease in TC, LDL-C, TG, and non-HDL-C (all P < .001). In the short term, a combined nutraceutical containing red yeast rice and PUFAs is well tolerated and efficacious in reducing plasma lipid levels in subjects affected by primary polygenic hypercholesterolemia and metabolic syndrome.
['Cicero|Arrigo F G|AF|', 'Derosa|Giuseppe|G|', 'Pisciotta|Livia|L|', 'Barbagallo|Carlo|C|', '|||']
D000328:Adult D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents D001688:Biological Products D002784:Cholesterol D008078:Cholesterol, LDL D019587:Dietary Supplements D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated D005260:Female D006801:Humans D006937:Hypercholesterolemia D008055:Lipids D008148:Lovastatin D008297:Male D024821:Metabolic Syndrome D008875:Middle Aged D010840:Phytosterols D016896:Treatment Outcome D014280:Triglycerides
nutraceuticals red yeast rice PUFA hypercholesterolemia monacolins phytosterols dietary supplements