History of Red Yeast Rice
Background history of Red Yeast Rice
- Red yeast rice (RYR) is a traditional Chinese cuisine and medicinal agent prepared by using Monascus purpureus fermented with rice, which has been recorded in ancient Compendium of Materia Medica, Ben Cao Gang Mu – Dan Shi Bu Yi since the Ming Dynasty ( 1368- 1644)1.
The Chinese have used red yeast rice for centuries as a food preservative, colourant (most popular in Peking Duck), spice and as an ingredient in rice wine. It is still a dietary staple in many Asian communities and has been used for medicinal purposes for over a thousand years in China.
It was described in the famous “Ben Cao Gang Mu” or Compendium of Materia Medica since the Ming Dynasty, as a medicine useful for blood circulation.
1 Monascus purpureus (monograph).
Altern Med Rev. 2004, 9(2): 208-210
This is a Chinese Proprietary Medicine. Please consult your physician if you are taking other medications / any prescriptive medication.
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