Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41752500›Full record

ReviewMolecules (Basel, Switzerland)2026

Approaches to Authenticating Products Containing Red Yeast Rice Extract (Monacolin K).

Stanislava Ivanova, Velislava Todorova, Daniela Grekova-Kafalova, Zoya Dzhakova, Katerina Slavcheva

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Stanislava IvanovaDepartment of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.ORCID 0000-0003-1282-7868
Velislava TodorovaDepartment of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.ORCID 0000-0001-9840-6890
Daniela Grekova-KafalovaDepartment of Organisation and Economics of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.ORCID 0000-0002-4105-9485
Zoya DzhakovaDepartment of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Katerina SlavchevaDepartment of Organisation and Economics of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.ORCID 0009-0001-4127-3385

Funding

Research, Innovation and Digitalization for Smart Transformation" 2021-2027, funded by the European Union BG16RFPR002-1.014-0007
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Red yeast rice (RYR) food supplements are widely used for cholesterol management owing to their content of monacolin K (MK), which, in its lactone form, is chemically identical to the prescription statin lovastatin. Despite their popularity, RYR products raise significant quality and safety concerns related to pronounced variability in MK content, frequent labeling non-compliance, contaminations with undeclared pharmaceutical statins, etc. The analytical differentiation between naturally produced MK and added synthetic lovastatin remains particularly challenging due to their identical chemical structures. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the chemical composition of RYR, with emphasis on monacolins, pigments, and relevant secondary metabolites, and critically summarizes current regulatory, safety, and quality issues associated with RYR-based food supplements. Furthermore, a practical, multi-level analytical strategy for product authentication is proposed. The approach integrates targeted quantification of MK and accompanying monacolins, identification of characteristic

Indexed as

Biological ProductsDietary SupplementsLovastatinGas Chromatography-Mass SpectrometryMonascusBiological ProductsLovastatinred yeast ricecardiovascular diseasefood supplementslovastatinmonacolin KMonascus purpureusstatins

Identifiers

PMID41752500
PMCPMC12942876

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.