Squalene and cholesterol
What 3 graded rows on squalene agree on for cholesterol, and where they differ. Counted side by side, never averaged.
Consensus finder Rows from the Squalene page, reviewed Oct 21, 2026 How it decides
What the rows agree on
Each block and row is one graded row from the Squalene page, with its PubMed record.
Your question
Squalene and cholesterol
3 rows · 135 peopleSplit. 1 row found an improvement, 1 found no difference and 1 found a worse outcome.
- DGrade D× 3
- Rows
- 3
- Trials
- 3
- People
- 135
Where they differ
From the rowsThe best-graded row, grade D, is a randomized trial of 102 people (1996) and found an improvement.
The row that found an improvement was larger: 102 people, against 15 people for the row that found no difference.
The row that found an improvement ran longer (5 months) than the row that found no difference (7 days).
The row that found an improvement is newer (1996) than the row that found no difference (1990).
The rows
1 improved · 1 no difference · 1 worse- DGrade DTotal and LDL cholesterol in older adults with high cholesterol · Improved
RCT · n 102 · 1996 · Adults over 65 with primary hypercholesterolaemia after diet run-in
860 mg/day with the evening meal · 20 weeks
Squalene alone lowered total and LDL cholesterol versus placebo (per the 2020 systematic review of the full text), but less than 10 mg pravastatin; the combination lowered LDL most. Adverse events were mild and transient.
- DGrade DSerum cholesterol and cholesterol synthesis during squalene feeding · No difference
Open-label trial · n 15 · 1990 · Patients with cerebrovascular or cardiovascular disease and varying cholesterol levels
900 mg/day (300 mg three times daily) · 7–30 days
About 60% of the squalene was absorbed and blood squalene rose 17-fold, but serum cholesterol and triglycerides did not change; fecal sterol output showed cholesterol synthesis rose by about 50%.
- DGrade DSerum cholesterol when squalene was added to rapeseed oil · Worse
Open-label trial · n 18 · 1994 · Men with high cholesterol (mean age 50)
1 g/day, then 0.5 g/day · 9 weeks at 1 g/day, then 6 weeks at 0.5 g/day
At 1 g/day, serum total, VLDL, IDL and LDL cholesterol rose by 12%, 34%, 28% and 12% and LDL apolipoprotein B by 14%; lowering the dose to 0.5 g/day returned serum sterols to normal.