BACKGROUND Policosanol is a cholesterol-lowering drug purified from sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum, L.) wax. Beneficial pleiotropic effects of policosanol, such as inhibition of the susceptibility of low density lipoprotein to lipid peroxidation, have been shown. Policosanol has a good safety profile and well tolerated and, to date, no drug-related adverse effects have been demonstrated. Specifically, policosanol has not been shown to affect liver function or to increase liver enzyme levels in experimental or clinical studies. OBJECTIVE This study was conducted to determine whether policosanol prevents liver damage induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in rats, since this model has been associated with an increased rate of lipid peroxidation. METHODS Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomised to four experimental groups: negative controls (no CCl4 or policosanol, group 1); positive controls (CCl4 but no policosanol, group 2); policosanol 25 mg/kg (group 3) and policosanol 100 mg/kg (group 4). Acute liver injury was induced in groups 2, 3 and 4 by CCl4 suspended in olive oil and administered at a dose of 1590 mg/kg via intraperitoneal injection. Eighteen hours after CCl4 dosing, the rats were anaesthetised and their livers removed for histopathological studies. RESULTS Policosanol 25 and 100 mg/kg dose dependently and significantly (p < 0.01) decreased the percentage of ballooned cells and hepatocytes with lipid inclusions and increased the percentage of normal hepatocytes compared with positive controls. The percentage inhibition of the occurrence of ballooned cells and hepatocytes with lipids was marked, reaching 71 and 49%, respectively, with the higher dose (100 mg/kg). The percentage of swollen hepatocytes was unchanged by policosanol compared with positive controls. No histological alterations in liver sections were found in the negative control group. Necrotic areas and inflammatory infiltrates were observed in the liver of seven of eight (87.5%) animals in the positive control group. However, only one of eight (12.5%) animals treated with policosanol 25 mg/kg and none (0%) treated with the higher dose (100 mg/kg) showed such a pattern. CONCLUSIONS Policosanol protected against the histological changes characteristic of CCl(4)-induced hepatic injury in rats, a model of hepatotoxicity in which the process of lipid peroxidation plays a role. Further studies aimed at demonstrating the connection between such hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects of policosanol must be initiated.