Effectiveness of Policosanol on Lipid Profile and Platelet Aggregation in Adults without Coronary Heart Disease: A Systematic Review and MetaAnalysis

Abstract

Several studies reveal that policosanol has lipidlowering and antiplatelet
qualities, yet many studies show differing results.This systematic review and
metaanalysis was to determine the effectiveness and safety of policosanol
on lipid profile and platelet aggregation for primary prevention of coronary
heart disease in adults. We systematically searched studies published during
19912015 from EBSCO, CENTRAL, ISI Web of Science, Science Direct, ProQuest,
Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, Thai Clinical Trials Registry, thesis and
newsletters; synthesized from research topics and abstracts; and extracted
and evaluated the quality of each research study based on Cochrane risk of
bias and used inverse variance weight method.
From the 29 research studies met the criteria (4,206 participants), and it
was unclear if most studies had a risk of bias. Policosanol had statistically
significant higher HDL compared to placebo and statins (MD 0.08 mmol/L,
95% CI 0.05 to 0.12) and (MD 0.09 mmol/L, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.15) respectively
and had statistically significant reduced platelet aggregation induced by
collagen, epinephrine and arachidonic acid compared to placebo (SMD 
0.74, 95% CI 1.12 to 0.35), (SMD 0.97, 95% CI 1.52 to 0.42) and (SMD 
0.75, 95% CI 1.31 to 0.20) respectively. The number of participants who
had adverse events from placebo were statistically significantly higher than
policosanol (RR 0.55, 95%Cl 0.41 to 0.74).
In conclusion, policosanol has positive influence on HDL and platelet
aggregation. But, majority of included studies were at unclear risk of bias.
Therefore, careful consideration should be taken before applying.