OCTACOSANOL – OCTA What?

What Is It?

OC – TA - COS’ – A - NOL - what is it?  More to the point – why should you consider taking it as a supplement?  Octacosanol improves endurance, speeds up reaction time, provides glucose (food) to the muscles and strengthens them, and enables the cells to utilize oxygen more efficiently. It is considered to be an ergogenic, an energy releasing substance.   There is no documented evidence, but logic would cause us to believe that octacosanol would be helpful in raising overall energy level as well.

Octacosanol is an isolated, biologically active factor of wheat germ oil. It is a natural substance that is also present in very small amounts in many, if not most, vegetable oils, in the leaves of alfalfa, grasses, bamboo, and the wax of apples and other fruit.

Research Results

From 1949 to 1969, Professor Thomas K, Cureton, Jr. conducted tests at the University of Illinois Physical Fitness Institute investi­gating the effects of wheat germ oil on stamina, strength, reaction time and cardiovascular functions of humans. Parallel tests were done which compared the effects of wheat germ oil with wheat germ cereal, corn oil, lard, vitamin E and placebos. (All capsules used appeared to be identical; however, the placebos contained nothing of nutritional value.)

Professor Cureton designed 42 tests which rated pulse rate, breath holding ability, basal metabolism, heart action, reaction time, agility, bicycling, strength, etc. At first the subjects were members of the university swimming, wrestling and track teams who were making aerobic demands on their bodies. Later graduate and postgraduate students, faculty members and even children were included.

There was no attempt made by the professor to alter the lifestyle of his subjects in any way. They simply added the substance being taken by their test group to their daily routine. Some of the tests went on for as long as ten years.  At first it was thought that vitamin E was the active factor of the wheat germ oil that was bringing the results. But the inclusion of vitamin E in its pure form into the testing showed that there was an "unknown factor" at work. That unknown was identified as octacosanol.

In the later years of his investigation, Professor Cureton was able to test the veracity of octacosanol using men whose backgrounds, cultural activities and living habits were as similar as possible using humans. He worked with trainees for the Underwater Demolition Team of the U.S. Navy’s Underwater Swimmer's School at Key West, Florida. The men were placed in three matched groups of ten each and the testing ran for six weeks. During that time the subjects did five hours of physical exercise and three hours of academic work daily, five days a week. They ate the same meals, slept in the same barracks and were under constant observation.  Needless to say, strenuous aerobic demands were being placed on these subjects.

Each day at the same time, the men were given identical capsules, 10 each, All of the capsules contained the same amount of vitamin E; however, one group also contained octacosanol as wheat germ oil; another received purified crystalline octacosanol suspended in cottonseed oil, while the third contained only cottonseed oil with the vitamin E. Six weeks later, the groups were retested with Professor Cureton's test battery. Both of the groups receiving octacosanol in either form had improved their physical fitness scores by approximately the same amount. The third group, which received no octacosanol, improved to a significantly lesser degree.   Interestingly the group that received crystalline octacosanol, suspended in cottonseed oil, showed an advantage in the all-out type of muscular endurance events that lasted over one minute. This endurance advantage was of a magnitude of difference to affect the order of finish in races or ratings in other physical tests.

Impressed with the results of Professor Cureton's investigation, the U.S. Marine Corps invited him to conduct similar testing with their elite UDT. Again, the subjects were divided into three groups but this time each group contained sixteen men and the testing continued over fourteen weeks. The results paralleled those of the original tests with the Navy UDT men, demonstrating again that octacosanol was the agent responsible for the increased aerobic performance.

Who Can Benefit?

Since then, and to this day, athletic coaches worldwide have been aware of Professor Cureton's studies and many have been using octacosanol with their athletes. Now, with the isolation of octacosanol, plus increased availability and manufacturing procedures that make it available at reasonable cost, concentrated wheat germ octacosanol and crystalline octacosanol are being used to an ever-greater extent. As the word about octacosanol gets around, more and more people will want to improve their aerobic performance and overall energy level by using it.

Some past research has shown that octacosanol may bring dramatic results with therapeutic use; however, these studies have not been duplicated. Whole Foods, a supplement trade journal, reports that octacosanol has had some effect in reducing the symptoms of multiple sclerosis Lou Gehrig's disease, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson's disease and stroke. In the same article, Dr. Helmut Prahl, executive director of the Dynatron Research Foundation, stated that in clinical studies, "Almost any disease of the central nervous system, at least in some instances, are (sic) responding to octacosanol."  With the therapeutic use of octacosanol, dosages of 40 mg per day are recommended.  For general usage, one milligram daily is now considered sufficient. Professor Cureton's original studies were done using 3.85 mg per day, but implications are that one milligram is enough and that more is not better.

How Can We Take It?

We have a choice of using wheat germ oil products, which contain octacosanol (either natural or concentrated) or crystalline octacosanol. It will take four to six weeks of either supplement before results will become apparent.  Wheat germ oil can be taken in capsules or by the spoonful. The wheat germ oil should be refrigerated and never cooked. There are some people who cannot tolerate wheat and yet others who have a difficult time digesting oils. These folks can use crystalline octacosanol. Also athletes will want to use the crystalline form because of the results on the endurance tests were based on this type of octacosanol and the dosage can be increased without adding calories. There are several professional hockey players and long-distance runners here in Nashville that purchase octacosanol from my store in Brentwood.  They have reported very good results – especially an increase in endurance.   

The next column will address the topic of Vitamin E.  One of the most researched of the vitamins, it has a very important role in heart and cardiovascular health.

Health is not everything, but without spiritual and physical health, everything is nothing. Until next time we meet – may God Bless you with good health, with a little help from you!

The information in these columns is for educational purposes only and not to diagnose or treat any medical condition. Please consult your physician for any serious condition.

Len Rossi, ND has been a proponent of Natural Healing for 30 years. After a 25-year career as a pro wrestler, Len earned his Doctor Of Naturopathy degree in 1982 and is a Licensed Massage Therapist.