Effect of sugar cane policosanol on lipid profile in primary hypercholesterolemia.

Policosanol, a mixture of long-chain aliphatic primary alcohols, is used as a cholesterol-lowering supplements. The effectiveness of policosanol is still questionable. To determine the lipoprotein-lowering effects of Cuban sugar cane-derived policosanol a double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled trial was performed. Sixtyeight primary hypercholesterolemic subjects were enrolled and randomly assigned to the treatment or to the control group. The first group received sugar cane policosanol 20 mg daily for 8 weeks, while the control group was treated with placebo. All subjects followed a normocaloric diet. The content of policosanol in the supplement tablets was assessed by gas chromatography. A total of 32 subjects in the policosanol group and 31 subjects in the control group completed the study. Body mass index, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDLcholesterol and triglyceride plasma levels did not change significantly in either group. In conclusion, sugar cane policosanol