Lovastatin production by Aspergillus species isolated from soil

Abstract

World Health Organization (WHO) has identified cardiovascular diseases (CVD) as the leading cause of death. In 2015, CVD claimed an estimated 17.7 million lives which accounted for approximately 31% of global mortality. Of the total number of deaths reported due to CVD, 7.4 million were accounted by coronary heart disease (WHO fact sheet, 2017). The leading cause of coronary heart diseases is linked to high cholesterol levels in blood plasma. Biologically, there are two native forms of cholesterol present in the body. These are low density lipoproteins (LDL) and high density lipoproteins (HDL). Individual concentration of each determines the optimum functioning and maintenance of arteries. Increased concentration of LDL in the blood leads to cholesterol build up along the walls of the artery. In contrast, high concentration of HDL facilitates the removal of cholesterol build up and flushes the same out of the system (Nigam et al., 2014). newlineIn general, only one-third of the total body cholesterol is diet-derived; the remaining is synthesized by the liver and other organs (Alberts et al., 1980; Furberg, 1999). Therefore, in order to control the plasma cholesterol levels, an important strategy is to inhibit the biosynthesis of cholesterol (Manzoni and Rollini, 2002).Statins are natural compounds biosynthesized as secondary metabolites by many filamentous fungi. Lovastatin, a natural statin, and its analogues are inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMG-CoA reductase), a rate-limiting enzyme of cholesterol biosynthesis. Apart from inhibiting the function of HMG-CoA reductase, statins enhance the liver function of LDL blood detoxification. Use of statin in treatments of other diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer s and renal disease has also been documented. Studies dedicated to determine the effect of statin on plasma cholesterol levels show a significant reduction by 19.4% and 23.8% when statin was administered (Nigam et al., 2014). Apart from cardiovascular diseases treatment, lovastatin can be used for the treatment of multiple diseases Agrowastes are suitable substrates for lovastatin production because they are rich sources of proteins, utilizable sugars and minerals newline