One of the more popular non-prescription cholesterol-lowering agents in recent years has been policosanol. Policosanol is a mixture of fatty alcohols derived from waxes of sugar cane (the main source of marketed policosanol,) yams, and beeswax. It originated in Cuba, and most of the clinical studies that have claimed a benefit with this substance were conducted in Cuba. Because of its increasing popularity, some companies that sell multi-vitamin pills have famously added policosanol to their formulations.
Now, however, a study appearing in the May 17, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association finds no evidence of a lipid-lowering benefit with policosanol. In a placebo-controlled randomized trial using genuine Cuban policosanol, German investigators tested the substance in a group of 143 patients. After 12 weeks of therapy, they found no evidence that policosanol - in doses up to 80 mg/day - reduced LDL cholesterol or any other lipid measures, as compared to placebo.
DrRich comments:
This study from Germany appears to be legitimate. It was conducted by a pharmaceutical company hoping to gain approval to market policosanol in Europe, and which had every reason to hope for a positive outcome. It was conducted in multiple medical centers with careful randomization, multiple measures of lipid levels, and the use of a central lab to assure consistent and accurate lipid measurements. I find this study more persuasive than those coming out of Cuba, and I plan not to spend any money buying policosanol.
