Abstract
Lovastatin exists in red yeast rice, post-fermented pu-erh tea, oyster mushroom, and different varieties of fungi. It is used to treat dyslipidemia, prevent cardiovascular disease, or combined with dietary interventions. However, it is not effective in treatment of receptor-negative homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia. Lovastatin was originally known as an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, thus reducing cholesterol biosynthesis; more complicated mechanism of actions were discovered later. Pharmaceutical preparation strategies are needed to improve the absorption and bioavailability of lovastatin. Lovastatin can lead to drug-drug interactions and several adverse reactions though. Chemical structure modifications led to series of new statins, one of which has been list in the best-selling drugs in the history of pharmaceuticals.
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Ying, J., Du, LD., Du, GH. (2018). Lovastatin. In: Natural Small Molecule Drugs from Plants. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8022-7_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8022-7_15
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