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This clinical trial was conducted to assess the lipid-lowering activity of oat noodles by replacing partial staple food (wheat or rice noodle) in normal and mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects. Totally 84 healthy and mild hypercholesterolemic subjects were recruited and divided into 2 groups as experimental (oat noodles) and placebo (wheat noodles) and instructed to consume 100 g of oat noodles or wheat noodles (replacing one or two meals/day) for 10 weeks and followed by 2 weeks of follow up (without noodle consumption). Various anthropometric measurements and biochemical analysis were carried out during initial (baseline), 2nd, 6th, 10th and 12th week (follow-up). Consumption of oat noodles by replacing staple food for 10 weeks significantly reduced (**p < 0.01) the levels of total cholesterol (TC; 17.46%) and low-density lipoprotein LDL-c (19.03%) in both healthy and mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects. However, the hypocholesterolemic effect is significantly higher in mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects as compared with normal subjects. A pronounced decline (*p < 0.05) in the levels of various cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) markers including TC/HDL and LDL/HDL ratios and blood pressure (SBP; 11.09% and DBP; 7.48%) were observed in oat noodles supplemented subjects as equivalence with the placebo group. The partial replacement of staple food with oat noodle could considerably improve the health status of all subjects especially in hypercholesterolemic subjects and thus lower the risk of CVDs., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC.)

Hyperlipidemia and inflammation play important roles in the development and progression of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is regarded as an inflammatory response of blood vessels to injury at the start of atherosclerotic plaque formation, which then leads to cardiovascular events. Edible fungi of the Monascus species have been used as traditional Chinese medicines in East Asia for several centuries. The fermented products of Monascus purpureus NTU 568 possess a number of functional secondary metabolites including the anti-inflammatory pigments monascin and ankaflavin. Compounds derived from M. purpureus have been shown to have hypolipidemic effects. We aimed to evaluate the effects of M. purpureus NTU 568 fermentation product an extract (Ankascin 568 plus) containing monascin and ankaflavin on blood lipids in volunteers with borderline high levels of total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) by conducting a 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, adaptive-design study. This study enrolled 40 subjects aged 18-65 years from a population of patients with TC and LDL-C levels of ≥180 mg/dL and 130-190 mg/dL, respectively. Measured endpoints included lipid profile, liver, kidney and thyroid function, electrolyte balance, creatinine phosphokinase, and fasting blood glucose. After 4 weeks of treatment (500 mg Ankascin 568 plus/day), the changes in the lipid levels showed that the active products had a more favorable effect than the placebo. Compared to the baseline, statistically significant decreases of 11.9% and 19.0% were observed in TC and LDL-C levels, respectively (p < 0.05 for all pairs). This study demonstrated that subjects administered one 500 mg capsule of Ankascin 568 plus for more than 4 weeks exhibited a significant reduction in serum TC and LDL-C levels. Therefore, Ankascin 568 plus may be a potentially useful agent for the regulation of blood lipids and the treatment of coronary artery diseases., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Pearl is one of the well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescribed for treating various skin and bone related disorders due to its abundant proteins and mineral contents. The present investigation focused on antioxidation and life span prolonging effects from different extracts of pearl powder. During in vitro studies, various oxidative indices were evaluated, along with lifespan-prolonging effect were checked using wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans. For the clinical trial, 20 healthy middle-aged subjects were recruited and separated into 2 groups as experimental and placebo group, who received 3 g of pearl powder/d (n = 10) and 3 g of placebo/d (n = 10) for 8 weeks, respectively. During the initial, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th weeks the blood samples were collected for biochemical analysis. The protein extract of pearl powder recorded maximum (p < 0.05) antioxidant activity (20-68%) as well as efficiently prolonged the life span of C. elegans by 18.87%. Pearl powder supplemented subjects showed a substantial increase (p < 0.05) in total antioxidant capacity from 0.45 to 0.69 mM, total thiols from 0.23 to 0.29 mM, Glutathione content from 5.89 to 9.19 μM, enzymic antioxidant activity (SOD-1248 to 1308; Gpx-30 to 32; GR-2.4 to 2.9) as well as considerably suppressed the lipid peroxidation products from 4.95 to 3.27 μM. The outcome of both in-vitro and in-vivo antioxidant activity inferred that protein extract of pearl powder was a potent antioxidant and thereby prolonged the lifespan of C. elegans. Hence, pearl powder could be recommended for treating various age-related degenerative disorders., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

In recent years, the use of fermented plant products to protect against various metabolic syndromes has been increasing enormously. The objective of this study was to check the regulatory efficacy of fermented plant extract (FPE) on intestinal microflora, lipid profile, and antioxidant status in mildly hypercholesterolemic volunteers. Forty-four mildly hypercholesterolemic individuals (cholesterol 180-220 mg/dL) were recruited and assigned to two groups: experimental or placebo. Volunteers were requested to drink either 60 mL of FPE or placebo for 8 weeks. Anthropometric measurements were done in the initial, 4 th , 8 th , and 10 th weeks. The anthropometric parameters such as body weight, body fat, and body mass index were markedly lowered (p<0.05) on FPE intervention participants. Moreover, the total antioxidant capacity and total phenolics in plasma were considerably increased along with a reduction (p<0.05) in total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) after FPE supplementation. Participants who drank FPE showed a pronounced increase (p<0.05) in the number of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium spp. and Lactobacillus spp., whereas the number of harmful bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens (p<0.05) were concomitantly reduced. Furthermore, the lag time of LDL oxidation was substantially ameliorated in FPE-administered group, thus indicating its antioxidative and cardioprotective properties. Treatment with FPE substantially improved the intestinal microflora and thereby positively regulated various physiological functions by lowering the anthropometric parameters, TC, and LDL-c, and remarkably elevated the antioxidant capacity and lag time of LDL oxidation. Therefore, we recommended FPE beverage for combating hypercholesterolemia., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Diabetes is the fourth major cause of death in Taiwan. High blood glucose can lead to macrovascular diseases, small vessel diseases (retinopathy, kidney disease), and neuropathy. This study aimed to investigate whether Monascus-fermented products (ANKASCIN 568 plus) can regulate blood glucose and blood lipids. This study enrolled 39 patients with a fasting blood glucose level between 100 mg/dL and 180 mg/dL, and a glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level of <9%. All patients were randomly divided into placebo (n=20) and experimental (n=19) groups. Each patient received two placebo capsules (maltodextrin) or ANKASCIN 568 plus capsules daily for 12 weeks. The patients were screened during follow-up 4 weeks after the administration of sample or placebo had been discontinued. Blood and urine samples were collected at the initial, 6 th week, 12 th week, and 16 th week. The anthropometric indicators of blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose level, postprandial plasma glucose level, insulin level, insulin resistance, blood lipid changes, and liver, kidney, and thyroid function indices were measured. After 6 weeks, changes in fasting blood glucose, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and total cholesterol (TC) levels showed that ANKASCIN 568 plus had a more favorable effect than the placebo. Compared to baseline, a statistically significant decrease of 8.5%, 10.3%, and 7.5% was observed in fasting blood glucose, LDL-C and, TC levels, respectively (p<0.05 for all pairs). Therefore, ANKASCIN 568 plus produced by Monascus purpureus NTU 568 fermentation may be a potentially useful agent for the regulation of blood glucose and blood lipids and for treatment of coronary artery diseases., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.)