POLICOSANOL IS THE GENERIC TERM FOR A MIXTURE OF LONG CHAIN ALCOHOLS EXTRACTED FROM PLANT WAXES . IT IS USED AS A DIETARY SUPPLEMENT .
POLICOSANOL WAS ORIGINALLY DERIVED FROM SUGAR CANE BUT THE CHEMICALS CAN ALSO BE ISOLATED FROM BEESWAX, CEREAL GRAINS, GRASSES, LEAVES, FRUITS, NUTS, AND SEEDS OF MANY FOODS.[1] PLANT WAXES CONSIST OF VERY LONG CHAIN FATTY ACIDS THAT HAVE BEEN REDUCED TO VERY LONG CHAIN ALCOHOLS. POLICOSANOLS ARE VERY LONG CHAIN ALCOHOLS WITH CARBON BACKBONES RANGING FROM 24 TO 34 CARBONS.[1]
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 . HOWEVER THESE STUDIES WERE SMALL, AND EFFORTS BY GROUPS OUTSIDE OF CUBA HAVE FAILED TO REPLICATE THESE RESULTS.[1]
A META-ANALYSIS IN 2005 CONCLUDED THAT HUMAN POLICOSANOL CONSUMPTION IS SAFE AND WELL TOLERATED AND IS EFFECTIVE AT LOWERING THE BLOOD CHOLESTEROL.[2] AS OF 2010, THEY WERE MARKETED AS LIPID-LOWERING AGENTS IN THE CARIBBEAN, CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA, AND CANADA.[1] FURTHERMORE, ANOTHER META-ANALYSIS WAS PUBLISHED IN 2018 WITH 22 STUDIES AND 1886 SUBJECTS SHOWED POLICOSANOL COULD IMPROVE DYSLIPIDEMIA WITH RAISING HDL.[3] THE BLOOD PRESSURE LOWERING EFFECT OF CUBAN POLICOSANOL HAS BEEN SHOWN IN AN ANIMAL MODEL USING SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RATS (SHR)[4] AND A HUMAN TRIAL.
WHAT OTHER NAMES IS POLICOSANOL KNOWN BY?
32-C, DOTRIACONTANOL, HEPTACOSANOL, HEXACOSANOL, NONACOSANOL, OCTACOSANOL, POLYCOSANOL, TETRACOSANOL, TETRATRIACONTANOL, TRIACONTANOL.
WHAT IS POLICOSANOL?
POLICOSANOL IS A CHEMICAL OBTAINED FROM SUGAR CANE AND OTHER SOURCES.
POLICOSANOL IS USED FOR MANY CONDITIONS, BUT, SO FAR, THERE ISN'T ENOUGH SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT IT IS EFFECTIVE FOR ANY OF THEM.
POLICOSANOL IS USED FOR CONDITIONS THAT AFFECT THE HEALTH OF THE HEART AND BLOOD VESSELS INCLUDING HIGH CHOLESTEROL, LEG PAIN DUE TO POOR CIRCULATION (INTERMITTENT CLAUDICATION), AND NARROWING OF THE BLOOD VESSELS THAT SERVE THE HEART.
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO RATE EFFECTIVENESS FOR...
Β· HIGH CHOLESTEROL, INHERITED HIGH CHOLESTEROL (FAMILIAL HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA), INTERMITTENT CLAUDICATION, INCREASING BLOOD FLOW TO THE HEART IN PEOPLE WITH CORONARY HEART DISEASE, AND OTHER CONDITIONS. HOW DOES POLICOSANOL WORK?
POLICOSANOL SEEMS TO DECREASE CHOLESTEROL PRODUCTION IN THE LIVER AND TO INCREASE THE BREAK DOWN OF LDL (LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN OR "BAD") CHOLESTEROL. IT ALSO DECREASES THE STICKINESS OF PARTICLES IN THE BLOOD KNOWN AS PLATELETS, WHICH MIGHT HELP REDUCE BLOOD CLOTS.
ARE THERE SAFETY CONCERNS?
POLICOSANOL APPEARS TO BE SAFE FOR MOST PEOPLE WHEN USED IN DOSES OF 10-80 MG PER DAY FOR UP TO TWO YEARS. IT CAN CAUSE SKIN REDNESS AND RASH, MIGRAINES, INSOMNIA OR DROWSINESS, IRRITABILITY, DIZZINESS, UPSET STOMACH, INCREASED APPETITE, TROUBLE URINATING, WEIGHT LOSS, NOSE AND GUM BLEEDS, AND OTHER SIDE EFFECTS.
DO NOT TAKE POLICOSANOL IF:
Β· YOU ARE PREGNANT OR BREAST-FEEDING.
Β· YOU ARE SCHEDULED FOR SURGERY IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. POLICOSANOL MIGHT INCREASE THE RISK OF BLEEDING. ARE THERE ANY INTERACTIONS WITH MEDICATIONS?
MEDICATIONS THAT SLOW BLOOD CLOTTING (ANTICOAGULANT / ANTIPLATELET DRUGS)
INTERACTION RATING: MAJOR DO NOT TAKE THIS COMBINATION.
POLICOSANOL MIGHT SLOW BLOOD CLOTTING. TAKING POLICOSANOL ALONG WITH MEDICATIONS THAT ALSO SLOW CLOTTING MIGHT INCREASE THE CHANCES OF BRUISING AND BLEEDING.
SOME MEDICATIONS THAT SLOW BLOOD CLOTTING INCLUDE ASPIRIN , CLOPIDOGREL (PLAVIX ), DICLOFENAC (VOLTAREN , CATAFLAM , OTHERS), IBUPROFEN (ADVIL, MOTRIN, OTHERS), NAPROXEN (ANAPROX, NAPROSYN , OTHERS), DALTEPARIN (FRAGMIN ), ENOXAPARIN (LOVENOX ), HEPARIN , WARFARIN (COUMADIN ), AND OTHERS.
DOSING CONSIDERATIONS FOR POLICOSANOL
THE APPROPRIATE DOSE OF POLICOSANOL DEPENDS ON SEVERAL FACTORS SUCH AS THE USER'S AGE, HEALTH, AND SEVERAL OTHER CONDITIONS. AT THIS TIME, THERE IS NOT ENOUGH SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION TO DETERMINE AN APPROPRIATE RANGE OF DOSES FOR POLICOSANOL. KEEP IN MIND THAT NATURAL PRODUCTS ARE NOT ALWAYS NECESSARILY SAFE AND DOSAGES CAN BE IMPORTANT. BE SURE TO FOLLOW RELEVANT DIRECTIONS ON PRODUCT LABELS AND CONSULT YOUR PHARMACIST OR PHYSICIAN OR OTHER HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL BEFORE USING.