Comparison of the policosanol contents in commercial health foods and policosanol stability in enriched rice bran oil

Abstract Policosanols, found in relatively large amounts in rice bran and sugarcane wax, are of interest due to their cholesterol-lowering bioactivity. Many dietary supplements and functional foods containing policosanols are available globally. The amount and stability of policosanols affect the health benefits; however, while many products claim to contain policosanols, data on the amounts and stability, including in dietary supplements and rice bran oil, are limited. This study examined the policosanol contents of commercial rice bran cooking oil and commercial dietary supplements. The policosanol stability was investigated through a model of rice bran oil enriched with policosanols extracted from defatted rice bran. The highest and lowest policosanol content of commercial rice bran cooking oil were 73.99 ± 2.96 and 18.65 ± 2.21 mg/100 g, respectively, with the major policosanols being tetracosanol (C24) and hexacosanol (C26). Functional oil products containing rice bran oil had the highest policosanol levels (215.72 ± 2.49 mg/100 g), with the rice content of the rice bran oil affecting the policosanol content. Some dietary supplements contained lower amounts of policosanol than the claimed 5 and 20 mg/serving. Policosanol was stable to heat treatment at 150 and 180 °C, with heat treatment transiently increasing the policosanol level, and was stable during 6 months of storage. Graphical Abstract