{"ok":true,"entry":{"slug":"policosanol","kind":"supplement","name":"policosanol","aliases":["sugarcane wax alcohols","octacosanol"],"brands_sg":["NOW Foods","Source Naturals","Nutricost","Vitacost","Swanson Vitamins"],"class":"plant wax alcohol","tags":["heart"],"use_for":"lipid claims an independent RCT did not reproduce","use_after":null,"use_duration":null,"take_with":null,"pros":["tolerated well at 10–80 mg/day over 12 weeks","cuban reviews report 21–29% LDL falls at 10–20 mg"],"cons":["german RCT: no lipid change beyond placebo","most positive trials come from one institute","recent trials are still Cuban-run — replication thin"],"dose_note":"trials use 5–80 mg a day; the Cuban literature reports benefit mostly at 10–20 mg, while a German trial at 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg found no change beyond placebo","dosage":{"ul":null,"unit":"mg","fda_dv":null,"rda_ai":null,"ul_status":"none_established","population":"general adult","hsa_max_daily":null},"ul_status":"none_established","sg_class":null,"cautions":["already on lipid medicines — the independent trial found no added effect","blood pressure medicines — recent trials test 20 mg/day against blood pressure"],"clashes":[],"sources":[{"id":"berthold2006","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/MED/16705107","label":"Berthold et al. — Effect of policosanol on lipid levels: a randomized controlled trial (JAMA 2006)","quote":"More than 80 placebo-controlled or comparative trials, performed mostly by a single research institute … No statistically significant difference between policosanol and placebo was observed … Policosanol was tolerated well without serious adverse events.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"gouni2002","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/MED/11835043","label":"Policosanol: clinical pharmacology and therapeutic significance of a new lipid-lowering agent (Am Heart J 2002)","quote":"At doses of 10 to 20 mg per day, policosanol lowers total cholesterol by 17% to 21% and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol by 21% to 29%","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"cuban2025","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC12487964","label":"Policosanol (sugarcane wax alcohols) 20 mg/day in Cuban Patients With Grade I Hypertension (J Clin Hypertens 2025)","quote":"This study aimed to report the effects of policosanol (20 mg/day) on blood pressure values in Cuban patients with grade I hypertension.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hsa_hs","url":"https://file.go.gov.sg/hsa-hs-guidelines.pdf","label":"HSA — Health Supplements Guidelines (Jan 2026), Tables 4 & 5 vitamin/mineral limits","quote":"HS for use by the general adult population should not contain vitamins and minerals exceeding the stipulated limits stated in Tables 4 and 5.","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hsa_hs_claims","url":"https://file.go.gov.sg/hsa-hs-guidelines.pdf","label":"HSA — Health Supplements Guidelines (Jan 2026), Table 6 prohibited claims","quote":"HS must not be labelled, advertised or promoted for any specific medicinal purpose … Blood and circulatory system: Hypertension, stroke, cholesterol disorders, reduces cholesterol, regulates platelet aggregation","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"hsa_pr","url":"https://file.go.gov.sg/hsa-chp-prohibited-restricted-ing-guidelines.pdf","label":"HSA — Guidelines on prohibited and restricted ingredients in HS and TM (Oct 2025), Annex A/B","quote":"A list of specific prohibited and restricted ingredients is provided in Annex A … This list is not exhaustive. Dealers should continue to: Conduct thorough safety assessments of their products","accessed":"2026-08-27"},{"id":"iherb_sg","url":"https://sg.iherb.com/c/policosanol","label":"iHerb Singapore — Policosanol category page, default order","quote":"NOW Foods, Policosanol, 90 Veg Capsules … Source Naturals, Policosanol, 20 mg, 60 Tablets … Nutricost, Policosanol, 100 mg, 120 Capsules … Vitacost, Red Yeast Rice With Policosanol … Swanson Vitamins, Policosanol, 20 mg","accessed":"2026-08-27"}],"brand_certs":null,"updated_at":"2026-08-29T16:16:27.496708+08:00"},"disclaimer":"kozen-x is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. it lists what published sources have written down. absence of a record is not the same as safe."}