Policosanol is the generic term for a mixture of long chain

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

s extracted from plant

wax Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to give low ...

es. It is used as a

dietary supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...

History

Policosanol was originally derived from

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

but the chemicals can also be isolated from beeswax, cereal grains, grasses, leaves, fruits, nuts, and seeds of many foods. Plant waxes consist of long chain alkanes and their derivatives, including long chain

fatty acids In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, f ...

and alcohols. Policosanols are very long chain alcohols with carbon backbones ranging from 24 to 34 carbons. The first policosanol supplements were produced by Dalmer Laboratories in Cuba; studies conducted and published by that group have found that policosanol is safe and effective as a

lipid-lowering agent Lipid-lowering agents, also sometimes referred to as hypolipidemic agents, cholesterol-lowering drugs, or antihyperlipidemic agents are a diverse group of pharmaceuticals that are used to lower the level of lipids and lipoproteins such as cholestero ...

. However these studies were small, and efforts by groups outside of Cuba have failed to replicate these results.

Safety and efficacy

A meta-analysis in 2005 concluded that human policosanol consumption is safe and well tolerated and is effective at lowering the blood cholesterol. As of 2010, they were marketed as lipid-lowering agents in the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Canada. Furthermore, another meta-analysis published in 2018 with 22 studies and 1886 subjects showed policosanol could improve dyslipidemia with raising HDL. The blood pressure lowering effect of Cuban policosanol has been shown in an animal model using spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and a human trial.

References

External links

Policosanol
at Drugs.com {{Alcohols Dietary supplements Fatty alcohols Alkanols