The Meridian Tropism and Classification of Red Yeast Rice Investigated by Monitoring Dermal Electrical Potential

Red yeast rice is a traditional Chinese medicine and food that has been purported to color food, ferment, and lower cholesterol. In order to study the antioxidative capacity of red yeast rice and the effects on electrical potential difference (EPD) of 12 acupuncture meridians, the pH value, oxidation reduction potential (ORP), ABTS, FRAP, T-SOD, and particle size distribution of red yeast rice were analyzed. 20 volunteers were recruited and randomly divided into two groups, the red yeast rice group (10 g red yeast rice and 40 g water) and control CK group (50 g water). The left 12 acupuncture meridians' EPD was real-time monitored. Samples were taken at the 10th minutes. The whole procedure continued for 70 minutes. It is shown that the pH value of the red yeast rice was 4.22, the ORP was 359.63 mV, the ABTS was 0.48 mmol Trolox, the FRAP was 0.08 mmol FeSO(4), the T-SOD was 4.71 U, and the average particle size was 108 nm (7.1%) and 398.1 nm (92.9%). The results of 12 acupuncture meridians' EPD showed that the red yeast rice can significantly affect the EPD of stomach, heart, small intestine, and liver meridians.