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Policosanol

Supplement plant wax alcohol heart & metabolic
Aka: sugarcane wax alcohols, octacosanol
Brands seen in Singapore: NOW Foods, Source Naturals, Nutricost, Vitacost, Swanson Vitamins
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.
How to use
What it’s for
Lipid claims an independent RCT did not reproduce
Pros & cons
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
Sources
  1. Berthold et al. — Effect of policosanol on lipid levels: a randomized controlled trial (JAMA 2006) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “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.”
  2. Policosanol: clinical pharmacology and therapeutic significance of a new lipid-lowering agent (Am Heart J 2002) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “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%”
  3. Policosanol (sugarcane wax alcohols) 20 mg/day in Cuban Patients With Grade I Hypertension (J Clin Hypertens 2025) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “This study aimed to report the effects of policosanol (20 mg/day) on blood pressure values in Cuban patients with grade I hypertension.”
  4. HSA — Health Supplements Guidelines (Jan 2026), Tables 4 & 5 vitamin/mineral limits · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “HS for use by the general adult population should not contain vitamins and minerals exceeding the stipulated limits stated in Tables 4 and 5.”
  5. HSA — Health Supplements Guidelines (Jan 2026), Table 6 prohibited claims · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “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”
  6. HSA — Guidelines on prohibited and restricted ingredients in HS and TM (Oct 2025), Annex A/B · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “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”
  7. iHerb Singapore — Policosanol category page, default order · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “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”
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Updated 2026-08-29. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.