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.

    红曲米作为一些亚洲国家的主要产物已经超过 1000 年了。它用作为食用色素，能给北京烤鸭加上标志性的红色光泽；用作为中药，可以降低胆固醇水平。

    "它就像一种他汀类药物那样，通过减少肝脏制造的胆固醇来进行工作，但是是以非常缓和的程度，"波士顿布莱汉姆女子医院的心脏病学家克里斯托弗 卡侬博士说。

    这一最新研究是在对试图服用处方他汀类药物，诸如立普妥或辛伐他汀的 62 名患者进行跟踪之后，发表在《内科学》年报上的。但是这些人抱怨药物给他们留下了严重的肌肉疼痛。

    在这项研究中，所有的患者都接受营养与运动方面的咨询服务。此外，一半参加者每天也服用 1800 毫克的红曲米补充剂。12 周之后，那些服用补充剂的人显示出 LDL（低密度脂蛋白）,即"坏胆固醇",显着地下降了 27%.而那些没有服用红曲米补充剂的人，他们的低密度脂蛋白（LDL）仅下降 6%.

    只有两个服用补充剂的病人报告了那样的持续肌肉疼痛。

    "我对这样的 LDL 降低程度感到惊喜，"宾夕凡尼亚州州立大学医学院的专家和研究报告的作者丹尼尔·拉德博士说。"我不得不承认，我没有期望过这种程度的 LDL 降低。而且还有比预期更少的副作用。"

    59 岁的查克·琼斯，来自亚德利，在研究中开始服用红曲米补充剂，看到了他的总胆固醇水平大幅下跌，从 221 降低到 135.

    "我很兴奋，"琼斯告诉 ABC 新闻。"我能够脱离开所规定的他汀类药物，这意味着我能有一个没有疼痛的生活。"

    "我是个药剂师，"琼斯说。"我以前没有听说过正在研究红曲米。我打算继续服用红曲米。"

    去年，发表在《美国心脏病杂志》上的研究曾经说过，中国的心脏病患者每天服用红曲米补充剂，有可能把五年内再次发作的机率降低 45%.