There have been stories in the news media recently touting the value of using red yeast rice products to treat high cholesterol. Consumers should be aware that many red yeast rice products may contain lovastatin, a drug used to treat high cholesterol. Lovastatin can be potentially harmful in individuals who have not been formally prescribed the drug by their physician, as they may adversely interact with other medications or cause severe muscle problems, leading to kidney impairment.

Please be aware that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning in 2007 urging consumers to discontinue three red yeast products promoted and sold on Web sites as dietary supplements to treat high cholesterol because they contained lovastatin. The FDA regulates dietary supplements like red yeast rice as food, not drugs, which means a supplement does not need to undergo the same rigorous studies and testing as over-the-counter and prescription medications.

We encourage all consumers to use caution when selecting and taking supplements, and purchase supplements and other health food products only from reputable manufacturers and sources to help ensure the ingredients are trustworthy. If you are going to take herbal and dietary supplements, look for products that have been approved by United States Pharmacopeia (USP), NSF International or consumerlab.com, which test and verify supplements’ ingredients and manufacturing processes. Remember: A supplement’s purity or potency is not guaranteed, and there is no guarantee that the product will work.

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