Effect of Monocolin K and COQ10 supplementation in hypertensive and hypercholesterolemic subjects with metabolic syndrome

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a world-wide epidemic disease with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Treatment strategies of MetS include pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions and in this respect a relevant role has been shown for nutraceutical compounds (NCs). The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of NCs incorporated with diet and lifestyle management versus diet alone, in lowering blood pressure (BP) values and improving lipid and glucose profile, in a group of hypertensives and hyper-cholesterolemic patients with MetS. Methods: 104 subjects with MetS (mean age 57.4 +/- 8.8 years, 51% males) without history of cardio-vascular (CV) diseases were enrolled in the study. 52 subjects were treated with a once-daily oral formulation of a NCs containing red yeast rice and coenzyme Q10 added to their diet for 2 months and were compared with the 52 patients following a diet program. Differences in BP, serum total cholesterol (TC), low- and high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC and HDLC), triglycerides (TG) and glucose values were compared by analysis of variance. Results: A significant reduction of BP, TC, TG, LDLC and glucose levels was observed in both treatment groups. However, a greater reduction of systolic BP ( - 5.2 vs. - 3.0 mmHg), diastolic BP ( - 4.9 vs. 2.9 mmHg), total cholesterol ( -17.2%), LDLC ( - 21.8%), TG ( - 16.0%) and serum glucose ( -3.4%) was observed in the treatment group relative to the control (p < 0.001 for all); HDLC remained unchanged (p = N.S.). Gender difference was not found in either group (p = N.S.). Conclusions: In patients with MetS, NC supplementation was safe, well tolerated and effective in improving clinic BP, lipid and glucose profile.