Dr. Tzu-Ming Pan is an Emeritus Professor of Biotechnology at the National Taiwan University in Taipei. His research over many years focused on beneficial molecules produced by Monascus and many other plants and bacteria. His lab identified a strain of Monascus that did not make monacolin K, yet surprisingly was able to reduce LDL cholesterol in animal models.
Figure 4. The Monascus strain used to make Ankascin (A), and the chemical structures of Monascin (B) and Ankaflavin (C).
After several years of work, Dr. Pan and his group isolated two molecules from red yeast rice that were responsible for this cholesterol lowering effect. These molecules, named monascin and ankaflavin, are chemically very similar (see Figure 4), suggesting that they function in similar or complementary cellular pathways. In fact, they turned out to have other remarkable properties. Not only could monascin and ankaflavin lower LDL cholesterol levels in the blood, they also helped in the management of blood pressure, blood sugar, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Pan’s group and others have published almost 100 research papers in the last 10 years that reported these findings. The red yeast rice extract they produced was called Ankascin 568-R. It is enriched with monascin and ankaflavin, and its safety and efficacy have been demonstrated in several clinical trials for different treatment conditions.
This data led to the inclusion of Ankascin in the FDA’s list of New Dietary Ingredients that are reasonably expected to be safe. It also received approval for sale by Health Canada’s Natural and Non-Prescription Health Products Directorate. As a supplement that is free of both monacolin K and citrinin, it is safe and effective for both short and long term use.
NOT ONLY COULD MONASCIN AND ANKAFLAVIN LOWER LDL CHOLESTEROL LEVELS IN THE BLOOD, THEY ALSO HELPED IN THE MANAGEMENT OF BLOOD PRESSURE, BLOOD SUGAR, AND ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE.
As one of the most important nutrients in the diet, magnesium offers several health enhancing benefits. The body uses magnesium for essential cellular functions such as producing energy, maintaining normal functioning of the nerves and muscles, heart rhythm, immunity and bone health. More than 300 biological processes occurring in the body require magnesium. Thankfully, magnesium is relatively easy to obtain through a healthful diet. However, for some people magnesium absorption may be impaired for a number of reasons such as depleted soils, having intestinal disorders like Crohn’s disease or colitis, and/or as a result of taking certain types of medications.
February is heart health month so of course we start to see more posts on heart-healthy recipes and natural ingredients. One thing you might notice is that many of these natural compounds fall into the category of antioxidants. This is a broad term that includes any substance that that can prevent or slow damage to cells caused by free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules that are produced in our bodies as results of normal cell energy production or from external damaging influences (i.e. UV radiation, chemicals etc.). The cardiovascular system is especially sensitive to the effects of free radicals.
Understanding Bioavailability It is now clear that poor bioavailability limits curcumin’s use. With respect to the whole food approach in particular, large quantities of turmeric powder can be consumed and may not result in beneficial concentrations of curcumin in the blood. Trials have shown that low levels of curcumin are present in the blood samples of participants administered high doses of curcumin (Anand et al., 2007). Some estimates suggest that only about 2% of curcumin taken orally is transported via the blood to the tissues. Furthermore, Pan and colleagues showed that 99% of curcumin in the bloodstream is conjugated curcumin
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