Microbial statins

Abstract

Statins are a class of antihypercholesterolemic (or cholesterol-lowering) drugs which act on the liver by reducing steroid biosynthesis by inhibiting the activity of HMG-CoA reductase, the enzyme responsible for the first step in the synthesis of cholesterol (and other biomolecules). This, in turn, causes the reduction of the concentration of LDL (low-density lipoproteins) associated with increased risk of coronary disease, stroke, and heart attack. The market for statins is around 25-30 billion dollars, with synthetic compounds such as atorvastatin having a large market share. However, microbial statins, such as lovastatin and pravastatin, have a market share around 10 %, while the semisynthetic simvastatin has a 50 % market. Extracts from Aspergillus terreus and Nocardia autotrophica, as well as raw biomass rich in statins from oyster mushroom or Monascus sp., are also sources of natural statins. This chapter describes briefly the action of statins, the market for these drugs, the potential for new microbial statins, and the production process for lovastatin and pravastatin.