The effects of policosanol supplementation on blood glucose: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Previous studies have assessed how supplementing with policosanol affects blood sugar levels. The outcomes, nevertheless, were not constant. Multiple electronic databases were searched including ISI Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus until February 9, 2023. To assess the effects of policosanol on glucose, we employed a random-effects or fixed-effects meta-analysis approach to examine the weighted mean differences (WMDs) and associated 95 % confidence intervals (CI) before and after policosanol and placebo administration. The final analysis comprised a total of 25 trials with 2680 participants. Compared to the control group, policosanol supplementation significantly reduced blood glucose levels (WMD: -2.24 mg/dl; 95 % CI: -4.05, -0.42, P = 0.01). Findings from subgroup analysis revealed a significant reduction of policosanol supplementation on glucose levels in period of less than 24 weeks, and in individuals below 50 years of age. Additionally, the reduction was statistically significant in dosage of 10 mg/day. Our dose-response analysis indicates no evidence of a non-linear relationship between policosanol dose and duration and changes in glucose levels (P-nonlinearity = 0.52, and P-nonlinearity = 0.52, respectively). Policosanol supplementation might improve blood glucose. Further trials with more complex designs are required to confirm the findings.