Gutian Red Yeast Rice

Gutian Red Yeast Rice

Gutian Red Yeast Rice is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　Gutian Red Yeast Rice: An additive and condiment used in the food industry for fermentation, preservation, flavor enhancement, and coloring. The best quality comes from Gutian, hence the name. It appears as granular particles in dark red or bright red, lightweight, with several radial bio-pigments at the ends of the grains, giving off a distinctive aroma. When placed in water, it floats on the surface without sinking. It is categorized into four types—Ku Qu (store yeast), Qing Qu (light yeast), Se Qu (color yeast), and Shi Qu (market yeast)—based on fermentation time, weight, and color. Red yeast rice has pharmacological benefits for the human body, aiding digestion, promoting blood circulation, strengthening the spleen and stomach, and treating injuries, women’s blood disorders, and postpartum lochia retention.

　　　Gutian Red Yeast Rice was already quite famous during the Ming Dynasty's Wanli era. At that time, Lin Chunxiu wrote, “Farmers mostly make yeast, while She ethnic minority tenants rent fewer mountain lands.” Volume Seven, “Industry Chapter,” of the *Gutian County Annals* records: “The northeast area of the county mainly produces red yeast rice. The northern district leads, followed by the greater eastern district, and then the lesser eastern township. Locally, it is sold to nearby counties and cities such as Lian, Luo, Fu, and Ning provincial capitals, and farther afield to Shanghai, Ningbo, and Tianjin.” Historically, the key production area of Gutian Red Yeast Rice was Pinghu Town, and Pinghu Red Yeast Rice enjoyed great renown both domestically and internationally.

　　　　Red yeast rice is produced by fermenting Monascus purpureus Went, a fungus of the Monascus genus, parasitizing on Oryza sativa L. (japonica rice) seeds. It has a history of over a thousand years in China. The early Song Dynasty text *Qing Yi Lu* mentions “cooking meat with red yeast rice.” In China, the production of red yeast rice is mainly distributed across Fujian, Zhejiang, Taiwan, and Beijing. Among these, Fujian’s Gutian Red Yeast Rice is the most renowned. Red yeast rice has a wide range of applications, initially used in brewing yellow wine. *Tiangong Kaiwu* states: “As litigation increases daily and alcohol gives rise to trouble, where does this originate? In ancestral worship and commemorating the past. Reflecting on the *Odes of Zhou* and *Ya*, when making liquors, the use of yeast is as if divinely created and clearly described.” “It is only the essence of the five grains transforming, coagulating with water and changing with the wind. For those in medicine, its name is revered; for food, its color is enriched.” Later, it found extensive use in fermented bean curd, vinegar, food coloring, and traditional Chinese medicine. Ancient medicinal uses primarily focused on its effects in promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis, strengthening the spleen, and aiding digestion. Recently, its monacolin components have been found to effectively lower blood lipids, prompting further research into red yeast rice.

　　　Pharmacological Effects

　　　　1. Lowering Blood Cholesterol: Professor Endo Akira discovered that five types of monacolins in red yeast rice culture fluid all inhibit cholesterol synthesis. Among them, monacolin K is the most effective. Its brand name is also known as lovastatin. Its structure is similar to HMG-CoA, competitively binding to the active site of the HMG-CoA reductase enzyme, thereby inhibiting its activity. This effectively suppresses cholesterol synthesis. Once liver and peripheral cell cholesterol synthesis is inhibited, LDL (low-density lipoprotein) receptor synthesis increases, promoting plasma cholesterol transport and thus reducing plasma cholesterol levels. Lovastatin shows a 50% inhibition dose of 0.046 mg/kg in rats. When administered at 8 mg/kg to dogs, plasma cholesterol concentration dropped by 14.1% after 5 days, 24.2% after 12 days, and 29.3% after 21 days. The reduction was mainly in LDL-C, with the LDL/HDL ratio decreasing by about 50%. This demonstrates a lipid-lowering effect. Therefore, monacolin components can effectively prevent and treat arteriosclerosis, coronary heart disease, cerebral thrombosis, and other diseases.

　　　　2. Lowering Blood Sugar: While conducting animal experiments on the serum cholesterol-lowering effects of red yeast rice culture, Yamauchi et al. found that all test rabbits showed a 23%–33% reduction in blood sugar within 0.5 hours after administration, and even after 1 hour, their blood sugar remained 19%–29% lower than the control group. The mechanism remains to be further studied.

　　　　3. Lowering Blood Pressure: A Japanese research institute found in animal experiments involving feed supplemented with red yeast rice culture that adding 0.2%–0.3% red yeast rice culture reduced the blood pressure of congenitally hypertensive rats from 26.26 kPa to below 24.0 kPa. The active components include GABA, glucosamine, and other cell wall components of the red yeast rice. During the maintenance phase of hypertension, both yellow yeast and red yeast significantly lower blood pressure, especially red yeast, which not only strongly inhibits but also actively reduces blood pressure.

　　　　4. Cancer Prevention: The orange pigment of red yeast rice, momascorubin, and rubropunctatin contain active hydroxyl groups that easily interact with amino groups, thus treating amineemia and helping prevent cancer.

　　　　5. Toxicity: Oral acute toxicity tests in mice showed no poisoning symptoms or deaths even after high-dose continuous oral administration for 14 days. The LD50 is greater than 21,500 mg/kg bw.

　　　　Additionally, it has certain therapeutic effects on chronic enteritis, dysentery, and similar conditions.