Beeswax Component May Help Reduce Cholesterol Levels

Valensa Goes Nano with Policosanol
By Stephen Daniels, Nutraingredients-USA, 5/10/2006

5/10/2006 - Florida-based Valensa International used the Vitefoods expo in Geneva to introduce industry to its new nanodispersed policosanol, that is said to increase its functionality when used in a range of supplements or functional foods.

Policosanols are waxy, mostly linear C20 to C34 alcohols, and can be extracted from beeswax and a range of plant sources including sugar cane, rice bran, green vegetables, wheat bran and saw palmetto.

Clinical trials from Cuba in 2001 reported that policosanols extracted from sugar cane could reduce cholesterol levels by 10 to 30 percent, but further studies have yielded mixed results. This discrepancy, said Valensa's president Dr. Rudi Moerck, could be due to a delivery issue…