A meta-analysis of red yeast rice: an effective and relatively safe alternative approach for dyslipidemia

To explore whether red yeast rice is a safe and effective alternative approach for dyslipidemia. Pubmed, the Cochrane Library, EBSCO host, Chinese VIP Information (VIP), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Databases were searched for appropriate articles. Randomized trials of RYR (not including Xuezhikang and Zhibituo) and placebo as control in patients with dyslipidemia were considered. Two authors read all papers and independently extracted all relevant information. The primary outcomes were serum total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride (TG), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). The secondary outcomes were increased levels of alanine transaminase, aspartate aminotransferase, creatine kinase, creatinine and fasting blood glucose. A total of 13 randomized, placebo-controlled trials containing 804 participants were analyzed. Red yeast rice exhibited significant lowering effects on serum TC [WMD = -0.97 (95% CI: -1.13, -0.80) mmol/L, P