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Background:Policosanol is a mixture of long-chain primary aliphatic alcoholspurified from sugar cane wax that has cholesterol lowering and antiplatelet effects. Omega-3 fatty acids (FA) have triglyceride lowering and antiplatelet effects. Combination treatment with policosanol and omega-3 FA (Ω23FA) has been associated with significant inhibition of platelet aggregation in rabbits compared with either drug alone.Objective:The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of combination treatment with Ω3FA (1 g/d) and policosanol (Ω3FA+Poli) compared with Ω3FA (1 g/d) plus placebo (Ω3FA+Pla) on platelet aggregation in human patients with hypercholesterolemia.Methods:This randomized, double-blind, clinical study at the Surgical Medical Research Center (Havana City, Cuba) recruited outpatients from lipid clinics, with some atherosclerotic risk factors. Outpatients of both sexes aged 20 to 75 years with serum total cholesterol (TC) levels ≥5 and

Background: Policosanol is a cholesterol-lowering drug purified from sugar cane wax that consists of a mixture of higher aliphatic primary alcohols. D-003 is a mixture of long-chain aliphatic primary acids isolated from the same source with experimentally proven cholesterol-lowering effects. Objective: The present study was undertaken to compare the cholesterol-lowering effects of D-003 and policosanol in normocholesterolemic New Zealand rabbits. In addition, the effects of the 2 drugs on levels of plasma circulating endothelial cells (PCEC) before and after citrate-induced endothelial damage were compared. Methods: Animals were randomly distributed to 3 experimental groups: 1 control and 2 treatment groups. Rabbits in the treatment groups received orally administered policosanol or D-003 daily at 5 mg/kg, the lowest effective dose of policosanol in this model, for 30 days. Results: After 15 days of treatment, both D-003 and policosanol significantly ( P P P P P P P P P Conclusions: D-003 administered orally at 5 mg/kg for 30 days to normocholesterolemic rabbits induced more beneficial changes in serum LDL-C levels than policosanol at the same dose. In addition, a slightly greater beneficial effect on HDL-C levels and PCEC count was noted with D-003 versus policosanol. Although D-003 was more effective than policosanol in these experimental conditions, additional comparative studies that include a wide dose range of both drugs must be conducted before definitive conclusions can be made about the comparative cholesterol-lowering effects of D-003.

Objectives The goal of the present study was to evaluate the effects of D-003 (5 to 200 mg/kg) administered orally for 30 days on the serum lipid profile of normocholesterolemic New Zealand rabbits as well as the effects of treatment withdrawal for the following 30 days. Background D-003 is a mixture of higher primary aliphatic acids; octacosanoic acid is its major component. Methods Thirty-five animals were adapted to experimental conditions for 15 days and then randomized to 5 study groups: a control group, which received only orally equivalent volumes of the vehicle, and 4 groups treated with the various doses of D-003 (5, 25, 100, or 200 mg/kg). Results After 30 days of treatment, D-003 significantly ( P P Conclusions Results of this study suggest that D-003 has reversible cholesterol-lowering effects characterized by a dosedependent reduction of TC and LDL-C values accompanied by a non-dose-dependent increase in HDL-C levels.

Objectives: The goal of the present study was to evaluate the effects of D-003 (5 to 200 mgkg) administered orally for 30 days on the serum lipid profile of normocholesterolemic New Zealand rabbits as well as the effects of treatment withdrawal for the following 30 days. Background: D-003 is a mixture of higher primary aliphatic acids; octacosanoic acid is its major component. Methods: Thirty-five animals were adapted to experimental conditions for 15 days and then randomized to 5 study groups: a control group, which received only orally equivalent volumes of the vehicle, and 4 groups treated with the various doses of D-003 (5, 25, 100, or 200 mgkg). Results: After 30 days of treatment, D-003 significantly (P < 0.01) and dose-dependently reduced levels of both total cholesterol (TC) (range, 27.5% to 37.3%) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (range, 64.5% to 84.4%). After 30 days of treatment, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels increased in all treated groups compared with baseline. Only the final values of the groups receiving doses of 25 to 200 mg/kg were significantly larger (P c 0.01) than those of the control group. This effect was not dose dependent. No drug-related effects on triglycerides were noted. There were no significant changes in the control group’s lipid profile during the study. The effects of D-003 on TC, LDL-C, and HDL-C levels were reversible after the washout period, with complete recovery to baseline values after 30 days of treatment withdrawal. No rebound effects were observed. In addition, drug-related toxicity regarding mortality, food consumption, weight gain, or blood chemistry safety indicators was not evident. Conclusions: Results of this study suggest that D-003 has reversible cholesterol-lowering effects characterized by a dosedependent reduction of TC and LDL-C values accompanied by a non-dose-dependent increase in HDL-C levels.