Hypercholesterolemia is considered an importantrisk factor in coronary artery disease. Thus the possibilityof controlling de novo synthesis of endogenouscholesterol, which is nearly two-thirds of total body cholesterol,represents an effective way of lowering plasmacholesterol levels. Statins, fungal secondary metabolites,selectively inhibit hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A(HMG-CoA) reductase, the first enzyme in cholesterolbiosynthesis. The mechanism involved in controllingplasma cholesterol levels is the reversible inhibition ofHMG-CoA reductase by statins, related to the structuralsimilarity of the acid form of the statins to HMGCoA, the natural substrate of the enzymatic reaction. Currentlythere are five statins in clinical use. Lovastatin and pravastatinmevastatin are natural statins of fungal origin. This review deals with the chemistry, mechanism for hmg-coareductase inhibition, biosynthesis and biotransformation, production and applications of mevastatin

Author Name: N Harsha, S Subbarao, V Sridevi, MVVChandana Lakshmi and T Kanthikiran

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Keywords: Mevastatin, Mechanism, Biotransformation and biosynthesis, Cholesterol, Inhibition, Production.

ISSN:

EISSN: 2249 –1929

EOI/DOI: NIL

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