Abstract
Policosanol is a long-chain aliphatic alcohol composed of 20 or more carbons, and is known to reduce serum lipids and improve liver function. We confirmed that administration of policosanol at 40 mg/day for 6 weeks led to significant reductions in acetaldehyde concentrations in eight healthy adult men. Blood acetaldehyde concentrations at 180 min after consumption of 25 g of ethanol were also decreased. Before policosanol supplementation, the mean acetaldehyde level (5 μmol/L) was 13.0 μmol/L, but none of the subjects had detectable acetaldehyde levels after the experiment. We performed this test in human subjects in order investigate the use of policosanol for prevention of hangover after alcohol consumption.
