[With red rice against cholesterol?].

Red colored rice, i.e., red rice has been utilized for centuries as food and medicine in Asia. Due to its method of preparation, red rice may contain statins. Products containing it are currently marketed for lowering of blood cholesterol in Western countries. Since at least some red rice preparations contain about 5 to 10 mg of lovastatin in the daily dose recommended on the package, these preparations may lower blood cholesterol levels, and exhibit similar drawbacks and interactions as the statin drugs.