How Is Red Yeast Rice Made

Red yeast rice is made by culturing rice with various strains of the yeast Monascus purpureus. Some preparations of red yeast rice are used in food products in Chinese cuisine, including Peking duck. Others have been sold as dietary supplements to lower blood levels of cholesterol and related lipids.

Is red yeast rice natural?

Red yeast rice extract (RYRE) is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been purported to lower cholesterol. Several types of the extract are sold as supplements. Red yeast rice may be appealing because it’s “natural,” but you need to be careful. Experts have not studied it extensively.

Is red yeast rice a fungus?

Monascus. Monascus-fermented rice, also referred as red yeast rice (RYR), is a food product that is produced by inoculating fungi of the genus Monascus into steamed rice.