Policosanol and blood lipids
What 4 graded rows on policosanol agree on for blood lipids, and where they differ. Counted side by side, never averaged.
Consensus finder Rows from the Policosanol page, reviewed Oct 21, 2026 How it decides
What the rows agree on
Each block and row is one graded row from the Policosanol page, with its PubMed record.
Your question
Policosanol and blood lipids
4 rows · 2,090 peopleMostly no difference: 3 of 4 rows, and most of the people. 1 had mixed results.
- CGrade C× 2
- DGrade D× 2
- Rows
- 4
- Trials
- 4
- At least: a review without a trial count
- People
- 2,090
- Pooled reviews may count some twice
What the rows share
From the rowsThe best-graded row, grade C, is a meta-analysis of 1,886 people (2018) and reported mixed results.
The rows run from 21 to 1,886 people, published from 2006 to 2018: 1 pooled review and 3 single studies.
The rows
3 no difference · 1 mixed- CGrade CLDL cholesterol in hypercholesterolemia · No difference
RCT · n 143 · 2006 · Patients with hypercholesterolemia or combined hyperlipidemia (lipid clinics and GPs, Germany)
10, 20, 40 or 80 mg per day · 12 weeks
LDL fell by no more than 10% in any group, with no significant difference from placebo and no dose-response; total, HDL and VLDL cholesterol, triglycerides and Lp(a) were also unchanged. Policosanol was well tolerated.
Row on the Policosanol page · PubMed 16705107 (opens PubMed)
- DGrade DLDL cholesterol in mild hypercholesterolemia · No difference
RCT · n 40 · 2006 · Healthy community-dwelling adults with mild hypercholesterolemia (US)
20 mg per day · 8 weeks
No significant difference in LDL change between policosanol and placebo; total and HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and C-reactive protein were also unchanged.
Row on the Policosanol page · PubMed 17158441 (opens PubMed)
- DGrade DBlood lipids in hypercholesterolemia · No difference
Crossover RCT · n 21 · 2006 · Healthy hypercholesterolemic volunteers (Canada)
10 mg per day · 28 days per phase
No significant difference from placebo in total, LDL or HDL cholesterol or triglycerides.
Row on the Policosanol page · PubMed 17093150 (opens PubMed)
- CGrade CLDL and total cholesterol (pooled trials) · Mixed
Meta-analysis · n 1,886 · 2018 · Adults with dyslipidemia (22 studies)
Varied; effects were not proportional to dose · Varied across studies
Pooled results showed lower total cholesterol (95% CI -0.87 to -0.30 mmol/L) and LDL (95% CI -1.02 to -0.40 mmol/L) and higher HDL versus placebo, with no change in triglycerides or weight. Heterogeneity was high, Cuban studies reported larger effects than others, and there was no dose-response.
Row on the Policosanol page · PubMed 28730734 (opens PubMed)