Policosanol

Other Names:  Polycosanol, PPG.

Policosanol is a term used to refer to plant wax extracts. 

It consists of a mixture of some fatty alcohols derived from plants such as yams and sugar cane, as well as from beeswax.

Forms of Policosanol: 

Several forms of policosanol are sold in various dosages, with the equality of effectiveness from one source to another is unconfirmed. 

For example, it is unsure whether or not equivalent doses of policosanol derived from beeswax would hold equal potency to a mixture derived from sugar cane.

Sources of Policosanol:

Policosanol is created from the mixture of wax extracted from several plants. 

The product is produced and promoted in abundance in Cuba as a panacea (cure-all), where pharmaceutical research is a major industry and sugar cane farms are extensively available.

Home Remedies using Policosanol:

Benefits and Uses of Policosanol:

Alcohols present in policosanol are touted to act as a metabolizing agent of cholesterol in the liver at a different location in the metabolic pathway than statins, further reducing cholesterol levels.

Policosanol is considered to be a natural cure or treatment for high cholesterol levels, especially lowering LDLs (“bad” cholesterol) with a side effect of perhaps raising HDL (“good” cholesterol), the latter of which is unproven.

Side Effects of Policosanol:

Because of its ability to reduce the platelet aggregation, it can react with blood thinners to cause an inability for blood to coagulate. 

Other less serious and more common side effects of policosanol supplementation are:

• headache
• skin rash
• gastrointestinal discomfort
• insomnia

though these are minimal and the drug seems to be well tolerated.

Additional Information for Policosanol:

Because policosanol is mainly a Cuban product, there is much controversy over its use in the United States. 

Due to differences politically, there is little faith in the Cuban medical field and the embargo and blockage of products from Cuba to be imported into the USA does not improve the image. 

However, in other areas of the world, such as in Australia, policosanol is widely marketed and used.