In addition to its culinary use, red yeast rice is also used in traditional Chinese herbology and traditional Chinese medicine. Its use has been documented as far back as the Tang Dynasty in China in 800 A.D. and taken internally to invigorate the body, aid in digestion, and remove "blood blockages". Red yeast rice when produced using the 'Went' strain of Monascus purpureus contains significant quantites of the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor lovastatin which is also known as mevinolin, a naturally-occurring statin. It is sold as an over the counter dietary supplement for controlling cholesterol. There is strong scientific evidence for its effect in lowering blood levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein/LDL ("bad cholesterol"), and triglyceride levels (see below). Because an approved drug is identical to the molecule it is therefore regulated as a drug by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).