Red yeast rice has been used in China for centuries both as a food and as a medicinal substance. It is produced through fermentation of red rice by the yeast Monascus purpureus. Red yeast rice finally contains Monacolin K (an analogue of statins, identical to lovastatin) which acts effectively inhibiting the activity of a body enzyme called HMG-CoA reductase, thus truncating endogenous cholesterol biosynthesis pathway.
Red yeast rice can help reducing and maintaining healthy cholesterol levels, as stated by a specifc EU health claim, thereby lowering the risk of heart disease.

Image: FotoosVanRobin [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]