With all the recent publicity concerning the deadly side-effects of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, it's good news to find researchers have published proven benefits from a natural substance called POLICOSANOL, a mixture of alcohols purified from sugar cane wax, that is completely safe and is an astounding 54% more effective than statin drugs.

Studies show POLICOSANOL not only sends cholesterol levels plunging, it also thins  blood, preventing deadly blood clots. POLICOSANOL is a prime example of a natural substance beating a pharmaceutical product. For all those struggling with worrisome elevated cholesterol levels, it's the long-awaited, eagerly anticipated  statin replacement.

In one study, 1 244 women with high cholesterol received either a placebo or POLICOSANOL.  Bad cholesterol in the POLICOSANOL group plunged 25%. Total cholesterol fell 17%. And the ratio of total to good cholesterol (the most important risk factor when evaluating the likelihood of heart disease ) improved by a whopping 27.2%!

In another study which pitted POLICOSANOL against a much-publicized statin drug, subjects given POLICOSANOL lowered their bad cholesterol  an average of 19.3% -- versus 15.6% for the statin. Most important, POLICOSANOL improved the most critical ratio -- total to good cholesterol -- by 24.4% (the statin drug -- 15.9%).

Even More Exciting News – POLICOSANOL May Prevent Heart Attacks

As with statin drugs, POLICOSANOL appears to work by lowering the liver's cholesterol production. But it does even more. It unthickens blood, thus providing protection against deadly heart attack or stroke. POLICOSANOL also reduces inflamation, which cardiovascular specialists now agree is a first step leading to heart disease.

Most important, while statins have a long list of potentially deadly side effects, in over 30 studies  POLICOSANOL has yet to show a single adverse event in test subjects. Some people even found that POLICOSANOL helped them lose weight -- welcome news if you're at risk of heart disease! It has also been shown to improve libido in lab animals -- a stark contrast with statin drugs, which can wreck your love life.

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ABSTRACTS OF POLICOSANOL STUDIES

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effects of policosanol in patients with intermittent claudication.  Angiology 1999 Feb;50 (2):123-30

This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of policosanol, a new cholesterol-lowering drug with concomitant  antiplatelet effects, in patients with intermittent claudication. After a baseline period of 6 weeks, 62 patients were randomized to receive, under double-blind conditions, either placebo (31 patients) or policosanol (31), 10 mg twice daily. Walking distances in a treadmill (constant speed 3.2 km/hr, slope 10 degrees) were assessed before and after 6 months of treatment. Both groups were similar at randomization.

Policosanol increased significantly (p < 0.01) the initial claudication distance from 132.5+/-13.5 m (baseline) to 205.7+/-36.3 m (after therapy) and the absolute claudication distance (p<0.0001) from 229.5+/-22.0 m to 365.4+/-46.9 m; meanwhile both variables remained unchanged in the placebo group (p<0.05).

The reduction of lower limb symptoms showed a greater benefit in the policosanol group. There was no significant change in either group in the ankle/arm pressure ratio. The treatment was well tolerated. There were 10 discontinuations (seven placebo, three policosanol) from the study. Six withdrawals occurred because of adverse events (AE); all were in placebo patients. There were five serious vascular AEs in the placebo group but none in the policosanol group (p<0.05). Overall, 12/31 (38.7%) placebo patients and 3/31 (9.7%) policosanol patients experienced AEs after randomization, which showed a lesser incidence of AEs in the policosanol group (p<0.01). The present study demonstrates a beneficial effect of policosanol in patients with intermittent claudication.

Long-term therapy with policosanol improves treadmill exercise-ECG testing performance of coronary heart disease patients. Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther 1998 Sep;36(9):469-73

This study examined the effects of long-term lipid-lowering therapy with policosanol on the clinical evolution, and exercise-ECG testing responses of 45 coronary heart disease (CHD) patients with myocardial ischemia, documented by exercise 201T1-myocardial perfusion scintigraphy, in an overall randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, made for different test endpoints.

Fifteen patients were treated with 5 mg of policosanol twice daily; another 15 patients were administered the same drug dose plus 125 mg aspirin; and the other 15 patients received placebo plus equal aspirin dose. They were followed for 20 months, previous baseline observations, with treadmill exercise-ECG, besides serum lipid test.

Beneficial changes on proportions among the 2 policosanol groups and the placebo group, showed an increment on functional capacity class, a decrement on rest and exercise angina, and a significant decrease in cardiac events, and in ischemic ST segment response, especially in the policosanol plus aspirin group (p = 0.05, X2(2df) = 5.8; p = 0.04, p = 0.02; Fisher).

After treatment, sets of mean changes revealed an increase on maximum oxygen uptake, and a decline on double product simultaneously in both policosanol groups (p < or = 0.02, p < or = 0.002; Pillais, Hotellings' T2), while the placebo group was impaired. Aerobic functional capacity percent showed an increment in policosanol groups (p < or = 0.05, paired T). Lipid levels improved as other endpoints already reported. A supposed ergogenic effect of octacosanol, policosanol's main active compound, was not detected with this design. These results show that policosanol-treated CHD patients improved clinical evolution, and exercise-ECG responses, owing to the amelioration of myocardial ischemia, even more when administered with aspirin.

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Effects of policosanol in patients with type II hypercholesterolemia and additional coronary risk factors.  Clin Pharmacol Ther 1999 Apr;65(4):439-47

INTRODUCTION: This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of policosanol, a new cholesterol-lowering drug, in patients with type II hypercholesterolemia and additional coronary risk factors.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: After 5 weeks of a standard step-1 lipid-lowering diet, 437 patients were randomized to receive, under double-blind conditions, 5 mg policosanol or placebo once a day with the evening meal for 12 weeks and 10 mg policosanol or placebo for the next 12 weeks.

RESULTS: Both groups were similar at randomization. Policosanol (5 and 10 mg/day) significantly reduced (P < .001) serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (18.2% and 25.6%, respectively) and cholesterol (13.0% and 17.4%), and it significantly raised (P < .01) high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (15.5% and 28.4%). Triglycerides remained unchanged after the first 12 weeks and lowered significantly (5.2%; P < .01) at study completion.

Policosanol was safe and well tolerated, and no drug-related disturbances were observed. Two male patients who received placebo died during the study—one because of a myocardial infarction and the other because of a cardiac arrest that occurred during a surgical intervention. There were 11 serious adverse events (5.1%) in 10 patients who received placebo (4.6%), 7 of which were vascular, compared with no serious adverse events reported in patients receiving policosanol (P < .01).

CONCLUSIONS: Subjects in the group treated with policosanol did not have serious adverse events during the 24-week study. This study shows that policosanol is effective, safe, and well tolerated in patients with hypercholesterolemia and concomitant coronary risk factors.

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Effects of policosanol chronically administered in male monkeys (Macaca arctoides). Food Chem Toxicol 1994 Jun;32(6):565-75

Policosanol, administered orally, has shown a cholesterol-lowering effect in different experimental models. Because lipid-lowering therapy is administered chronically, it is necessary to know the effects of these drugs after long-term administration. 18 adult male Macaca arctoides monkeys were used to study the cholesterol-lowering effects and possible toxicity produced by oral administration of policosanol (0.25, 2.5 and 25 mg/kg) for 54 wk.

After 8 wks, a significant reduction of serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was observed in policosanol-treated animals when compared with the controls; this effect persisted throughout the study. The animals' behavioral repertoire, physical condition, haematology and blood biochemistry, as well as spermiogram analysis and electrocardiography, were monitored during the study; ophthalmological and pathological anatomy examinations were performed at the end of the administration period. No drug-related toxicity was detected by any examination.

The results gave further evidence of the marked and persistent cholesterol-lowering effects of policosanol that had been observed in different experimental models. There was a significant reduction of spontaneous aortic atherosclerotic lesions in treated animals compared with controls. Policosanol (0.25-25 mg/kg) administered orally for 54 wk brought about a persistent reduction in blood cholesterol levels and was very safe and well tolerated during long-term administration.

Protective effect of policosanol on atherosclerotic lesions in rabbits with exogenous hypercholesterolemia. Braz J Med Biol Res 2000 Jul;33(7):835-40

Policosanol is a mixture of higher aliphatic alcohols purified from sugar cane wax, with cholesterol-lowering effects demonstrable in experimental models and in patients with type II hypercholesterolemia. Prior studies describe the protective effects of policosanol on atherosclerotic lesions experimentally induced by lipofundin in rabbits and rats and spontaneously developed in stumptail monkeys. 

The present study was conducted to determine whether policosanol administered orally to rabbits with exogenous hypercholesterolemia also protects against the development of atherosclerotic lesions. Male New Zealand rabbits weighing 1.5 to 2 kg were randomly divided into three experimental groups which received 25 or 200 mg/kg policosanol (N = 7) orally for 60 days with acacia gum as vehicle or acacia gum alone (control group, N = 9). All animals received a cholesterol-rich diet (0.5%) during the entire period. Control animals developed marked hypercholesterolemia, macroscopic lesions and arterial intimal thickening. Intima thickness was significantly less (32.5 +/- 7 and 25.4 +/-4 microm) in hypercholesterolemic rabbits treated with policosanol than in controls (57.6+/- 9 microm). In most policosanol-treated animals, atherosclerotic lesions were not present, and in others, thickness of fatty streaks had less foam cell layers than in controls. We conclude that policosanol has a protective effect on the atherosclerotic lesions occurring in this experimental model.

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A 12-month study of policosanol oral toxicity in Sprague Dawley rats.

Toxicol Letter 1994 Jan;70(1):77-87

Policosanol is a natural mixture of higher aliphatic primary alcohols. Oral toxicity of policosanol was evaluated in a 12-month study in which doses from 0.5 to 500 mg/kg were given orally to Sprague Dawley (SD) rats (20/sex/group) daily. There was no treatment-related toxicity. Thus, effects on body weight gain, food consumption, clinical observations, blood biochemistry, hematology,  organ weight ratios and histopathological findings were similar in control and treated groups. This study supports the wide safety margin of policosanol when administered chronically.

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