What is it?
Policosanol is a mixture of long-chain alcohols (waxes), including octacosanol, extracted from natural sources.
Where is it found?
The long-chain alcohols found in policosanol are present in many foods of plant origin.
Supplemental policosanol is typically extracted from sugar cane or beeswax.
Policosanol has been used
in connection with the following condition (refer to the individual
health concern for complete information):
Who is likely to be deficient?
Policosanol is not an essential nutrient, so no deficiencies are possible.
How much is usually taken?
Most studies have used 5 to 10 mg of policosanol taken twice per day.
Are there any side effects or interactions?
When policosanol is combined with aspirin, an increased blood-thinning effect
occurs.1 This suggests that policosanol should not be taken with blood-thinning
drugs without the supervision of a doctor.
At the time of writing, there were no well-known drug interactions
with policosanol.
References
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1. Arruzazabala ML, Valdes S, Mas R, et al. Comparative study of
policosanol, aspirin and the combination therapy policosanol-aspirin on platelet aggregation
in healthy volunteers. Pharmacol Res 1997;36:293–7.
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making any changes in prescribed medications. Information expires March 2007.
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