The short-term supplementation of monacolin K improves the lipid and metabolic patterns of hypertensive and hypercholesterolemic subjects at low cardiovascular risk. Mazza A 1, Schiavon L , Rigatelli G , Torin G , Montanaro F , Lenti S . Background - The clinical hypocholesterolemic effect of nutraceutical compounds (NCs) containing red yeast rice extracts providing a daily dose of 2.5-10 mg of monacolin K is now well established. For this reason, NCs may be a viable alternative to the statin drugs commonly used to lower cholesterol levels. However, in order to avoid some possible statin-like side effects, most NCs available on the market contain low doses of monacolin K, which could reduce their efficacy. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of a NC containing high doses of monacolin K (10 mg) in improving the lipid profile and glucose metabolism when added to the diet versus the diet alone in a group of hypertensive and hyper-cholesterolemic subjects at low cardiovascular risk. Methods - Thirty subjects with grade-1 essential hypertension (mean age 51.5 ± 7.8 years, 62.9% males) were enrolled in the treatment group (NC group). These subjects followed a programmed diet and took one tablet…