In vitro and in vivo study of octacosanol metabolism.

Background: Policosanol is a mixture of very-long-chain aliphatic alcohols purified from sugar cane wax with cholesterol-lowering effects, whose main component is octacosanol. Scarce data about the metabolism of octacosanol and the other fatty alcohols composing policosanol have been published.

Methods: Human fibroblasts were cultured in presence of (3)H-octacosanol during 0.