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xinhua news agency, beijing, september 21 (reporter sun jing) the ministry of health, labor and welfare of japan announced this week the results of an investigation into the incident in which kobayashi pharmaceutical's health products containing red yeast rice ingredients caused damage to consumers' health. it confirmed that the penicillic acid detected in the raw materials of the company's health products containing red yeast rice ingredients was the cause of consumers' renal dysfunction.

according to japanese media such as kyodo news, animal experiments showed that among the three compounds involved in the test that are not usually found in red yeast rice, only penicillic acid caused renal dysfunction in rats, while the other two substances did not have a negative impact on the rats' kidneys. based on this, the japanese ministry of health, labor and welfare confirmed that penicillic acid was the culprit for the health problems.

this incident once again sounded the alarm for the safety of health products. so, what is penicillic acid? what are its hazards? and how can consumers prevent it?

shentu yinhong, head of the technical expert group of fermented chinese medicine pieces of the chinese medicine fermentation committee of the china association of traditional chinese medicine, explained in an interview with xinhua news agency: "penicillinic acid is a toxin produced by penicillium. after ingestion, it can cause liver enlargement, liver cell degeneration, and renal tubular necrosis."

lang na, chief physician and doctoral supervisor at the center for disease prevention and treatment of xiyuan hospital of china academy of chinese medical sciences, said in an interview with xinhua news agency that penicillic acid mainly damages liver, kidney and myocardial cells, and its content is distributed in the liver, kidney and heart, indicating that its distribution is related to the degree of lesions in each organ. she also emphasized that this toxin is resistant to high temperatures and it is difficult to reduce its toxicity even if it is heated or cooked. the current mainstream method is to use thin layer chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography for detection, which provides important support for ensuring food and drug safety.

regarding how to ensure the safety of health products from the production stage, shentu yinhong put forward three suggestions: first, fully sterilize the materials, equipment and fermentation environment used in production; second, accurately control the fermentation time, temperature, humidity and other factors; third, test the safety and effectiveness indicators of the finished products and only sell them after passing the test.

lang na said that there is nothing wrong with health products containing red yeast rice. red yeast rice has the effects of strengthening the spleen and digestion, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. modern pharmacological research shows that red yeast rice can lower blood lipids. however, if you want to lower blood lipids, in addition to taking medicines and health products, you should also try to eat a reasonable diet, exercise moderately, quit smoking and limit alcohol consumption, and have regular physical examinations.

experts said that through strict production management, adequate sterilization measures and advanced testing methods, the production of harmful substances such as penicillic acid can be effectively prevented during the production of health products such as red yeast rice. consumers should also raise their awareness of health product safety, choose regular channels to purchase products, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and take a multi-pronged approach to jointly maintain their own health. (end)