X-Message-Number: 25787
Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2005 12:35:59 -0800 (PST)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: is policosanol's cholesterol lowering effect a hoax?

[According to a Cuban group of researchers sugar cane derived policosanol
is more effective than most statins for lowering cholesterol.
Unfortunately Cuban policosanol is under embargo, so only policosanol
from other sources can be independantly tested. The clinical results
using these alternative sources such as rice, sunflower seed, wheat as
well as sugar cane, all indicate that policosanol has no effect on
cholesterol.]

Metabolism. 2004 Oct;53(10):1309-14
Wheat germ policosanol failed to lower plasma cholesterol in subjects
with normal to mildly elevated cholesterol concentrations.
  Sugar cane policosanol, a mixture of long-chain primary alcohols
(approximately 67% as octacosanol), has been reported to lower plasma
low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol. We investigated the effect of
wheat germ policosanol (WGP) on plasma lipid profiles in 58 adults (30
men and 28 women, aged 49 +/- 11 years) with normal to mildly elevated
plasma cholesterol concentrations in a double-blind, randomized, parallel
placebo-controlled study. Subjects consumed chocolate pellets with or
without 20 mg/d WGP for 4 weeks. Plasma lipid concentrations, routine
blood chemistry and hematology were determined at the start and the end of
the study. The initial plasma total, LDL-cholesterol, high-density
lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol,and triacylglycerol concentrations in the
WGP and the control groups were identical. Over the 4 weeks, neither the
WGP nor the control treatment significantly changed plasma total
cholesterol, LDL- and HDL-cholesterol, or triacylglycerol concentrations
when compared to baseline values. In addition, there was no significant
difference in plasma lipid profiles between the WGP and the control
groups at the end of the study. WGP did not result in any adverse
effects as indicated by plasma activities of L-gamma-glutamyltransferase
(gamma-GT), ALT, AST, bilirubin concentrations, and blood cell profiles.
Chemical analysis showed that WGP consists of 8% hexacosanol, 67%
octacosanol, 12% triacosanol, and 13% other long-chain alcohols, which is
similar to the composition of sugar cane policosanol. In conclusion, WGP
at 20 mg/d had no beneficial effects on blood lipid profiles. It
therefore seems unlikely that the long chain (C24-34) alcohols have any
cholesterol-lowering activity.

Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2004 Aug;13(Suppl):S69.
Lack of effect of sugar cane and sunflower seed policosanols on plasma
cholesterol in rabbits.
  Background- Policosanol, a mixture of high molecular weight primary
aliphatic alcohols from sugar cane (SCP), has been shown to be safe and
effective at lowering blood cholesterol when administered in low
(pharmacological) doses (5-20 mg/day) to experimental animals, healthy
patients and patients with type II hypercholesterolemia. Objective- We
attempted to see whether a similar product derived from winteriser cake
containing policosanols during sunflower oil production (SFP) has
cholesterol-lowering potential. Design- Normocholesterolemic rabbits were
administered either a control oil (water/emulsifier/sunflower oil
emulsion), 100 mg/kg SCP (Lesstanol(R), provided by Johnson & Barana) (in
control) or 100 mg/kg SFP winteriser cake (provided by Goodman Fielder)
(in control) by gavage at 48 hour intervals for 4 weeks. Fasting blood
samples were taken for cholesterol (C) and triglyceride (TAG) analysis at
weekly intervals from 1week beforehand. Outcomes- The table shows changes
in plasma lipids between averaged pre- and post-treatment values. Food
intake and body weight were unaffected by the treatments. Plasma
low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-C increased and plasma TAG decreased in all
groups following gavaging: hence there was no treatment effect of either
policosanol. Conclusions- Our data do not confirm a hypocholesterolemic
effect of policosanols extracted from either sunflower oil cake or sugar
cane, even though a lower dose of SCP than used here (5 mg /day)
has been reported to lower cholesterol in rabbits.

Lipids. 2003 Feb;38(2):165-70.
Effects of policosanols and phytosterols on lipid levels and cholesterol
biosynthesis in hamsters.
  The current study was carried out to examine the effects of policosanols
and phytosterols, alone and in combination, on lipid profiles,
cholesterol biosynthesis, and tissue histopathological changes in
hamsters. Fifty male Golden Syrian hamsters, weighing 100 to 120 g, were
fed a regular rodent chow for 2 wk before being randomly assigned into 5
groups of 10 animals each fed semisynthetic diets for 4 wk. Group 1 was
given a control diet that contained 0.25% cholesterol and 5% fat with a
PUFA to saturated FA ratio of 0.4. Groups 2 to 5 were fed the control
diet and given Octa-6 [a policosanol mixture from sugar cane wax, 25 mg/kg
body weight (BW)], Ricewax (a policosanol mixture from rice wax with 50%
being converted to the corresponding acids, 50 mg/kg BW), phytosterols
(Cholestatin; 1,000 mg/kg BW), and Ricewax (50 mg/kg BW) plus
phytosterols (1,000 mg/kg BW), respectively. The results
showed that there was no difference between Octa-6 and Ricewax treatments
in any of the lipid parameters measured, and both had similar levels of
triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (T-C), and HDL cholesterol (HDL-C)
as the control. Octa-6 but not Ricewax increased (P = 0.03) non-HDL-C as
compared with the control. Phytosterols reduced T-C (P < 0.0003) and HDL-C
(P < 0.004) without a significant effect on TG and non-HDL-C as compared
to the control. Ricewax plus phytosterols had effects similar to those
with phytosterols alone. Free cholesterol synthetic rates were not
different among the treatments. Policosanols or phytosterols did not show
any toxic effects in liver, heart, brain, or kidney. Results suggest
that, although phytosterols reduce T-C and HDL-C levels, policosanols
have no significant favorable effect in changing lipid levels in hamsters.

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