It's been a staple of some Asian countries for more than 1,000 years. As food coloring, it gives Peking Duck its signature red glow. And as herbal medicine, it lowers cholesterol levels.

    "It works much the way a statin would work, by reducing the amount of cholesterol that the liver makes, but in a much gentler level," said Dr. Christopher Cannon a cardiologist at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital.

    This latest study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine followed 62 patients who had tried taking prescription statins, such as Lipitor or Zocor, but complained it left them with severe muscle pains.

    In the study, all of the patients received counseling on nutrition and exercise. Additionally, half of the participants also took 1,800 mg of red yeast rice supplements every day. After 12 weeks, those taking the supplements saw LDL, the "bad cholesterol," drop by a remarkable 27 percent. Those who did not take the red yeast rice supplements saw their LDL drop by only 6 percent.

    Only two patents on the supplements reported those persistent muscle pains.

    "I was pleasantly surprised with the degree of LDL lowering," said Dr. Daniel Rader a lipid specialist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and an author of the study. "I have to confess, I did not expect this degree of LDL lowering. And there were many fewer side effects than expected."

    Chuck Jones, 59, from Yardley, Pa., started taking red yeast rice supplements in the study and saw his total cholesterol level plummet, from 221 to 135.

    "I was very excited," Jones told ABC News. I was able to be off the statin drug that had been prescribed, which meant I could have a pain-free life."

    "I am a chemist," Jones said. "I had not heard of red yeast rice prior to being in the study. And I do plan to continue taking the red yeast rice."

    Research published last year in the American Journal of Cardiology showed that heart attack patients in China who took a red yeast rice supplement daily were 45 percent less likely to have another attack within five years.

    紅曲米作為一些亞洲國家的主要產物已經超過 1000 年了。它用作為食用色素，能給北京烤鴨加上標志性的紅色光澤；用作為中藥，可以降低膽固醇水平。

    "它就像一種他汀類藥物那樣，通過減少肝臟制造的膽固醇來進行工作，但是是以非常緩和的程度，"波士頓布萊漢姆女子醫院的心臟病學家克里斯托弗 卡儂博士說。

    這一最新研究是在對試圖服用處方他汀類藥物，諸如立普妥或辛伐他汀的 62 名患者進行跟蹤之后，發表在《內科學》年報上的。但是這些人抱怨藥物給他們留下了嚴重的肌肉疼痛。

    在這項研究中，所有的患者都接受營養與運動方面的咨詢服務。此外，一半參加者每天也服用 1800 毫克的紅曲米補充劑。12 周之后，那些服用補充劑的人顯示出 LDL（低密度脂蛋白）,即"壞膽固醇",顯著地下降了 27%.而那些沒有服用紅曲米補充劑的人，他們的低密度脂蛋白（LDL）僅下降 6%.

    只有兩個服用補充劑的病人報告了那樣的持續肌肉疼痛。

    "我對這樣的 LDL 降低程度感到驚喜，"賓夕凡尼亞州州立大學醫學院的專家和研究報告的作者丹尼爾·拉德博士說。"我不得不承認，我沒有期望過這種程度的 LDL 降低。而且還有比預期更少的副作用。"

    59 歲的查克·瓊斯，來自亞德利，在研究中開始服用紅曲米補充劑，看到了他的總膽固醇水平大幅下跌，從 221 降低到 135.

    "我很興奮，"瓊斯告訴 ABC 新聞。"我能夠脫離開所規定的他汀類藥物，這意味著我能有一個沒有疼痛的生活。"

    "我是個藥劑師，"瓊斯說。"我以前沒有聽說過正在研究紅曲米。我打算繼續服用紅曲米。"

    去年，發表在《美國心臟病雜志》上的研究曾經說過，中國的心臟病患者每天服用紅曲米補充劑，有可能把五年內再次發作的機率降低 45%.