Cholesterol tablets spark health scare after 2 die in Japan, more than 100 hospitalised

Dietary supplements containing red yeast rice, or ‘beni koji’ – meant to lower cholesterol – were recalled after kidney complaints from customers

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, the supplement maker, said that it was aware of two deaths possibly related to its prescription-free tablets

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Medical research describes red yeast rice as an alternative to statins for lowering high cholesterol. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 11:42am, 27 Mar 2024Updated: 5:23pm, 27 Mar 2024

Two deaths and more than 100 hospitalisations have been linked to a growing health scare in Japan around dietary supplements meant to lower cholesterol, the government said on Wednesday.

Authorities are investigating after the over-the-counter tablets were recalled by Japanese drug maker Kobayashi Pharmaceutical following kidney complaints from customers.

The company has recalled three supplement brands – “beni koji choleste help” and two other products – which contain an ingredient called red yeast rice, or beni koji.

Red yeast rice, or “beni koji” can cause organ damage depending on its chemical make-up, medical research suggests. Photo: Shutterstock

Medical research describes red yeast rice as an alternative to statins for lowering high cholesterol, but also warns of a risk of organ damage depending on its chemical make-up.

The total number of suspected deaths (is now) two”, while “106 cases of potentially linked hospitalisation also came to light”, top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.

The supplement’s maker, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, sells a wide range of health products marketed through television adverts in Japan, and has cautioned that it has not reached a conclusion on a causal link between the health problems and its products.

It has also supplied red yeast rice to around 50 other companies in Japan and two in Taiwan, the Osaka-based company says.