Lovastatin

Category: pharmacological

Aliases: Mevacor, Altoprev

Pharmacological Mechanism

First FDA-approved statin (1987). Lactone prodrug from Aspergillus terreus. CYP3A4 substrate — interaction-prone. Lower-potency than newer statins — largely displaced clinically.

Half-Life (t½)

PO: 3h

Dosing Guidelines

• PO: Typical 33.3 mg (Range: 10–80 mg)

Target Organ Systems

• cardiovascular
• digestive

Pathways It Modulates

• Atherosclerosis plaque pathology (inhibitor) — HMG-CoA reductase
• Cholesterol synthesis (inhibitor) — HMG-CoA reductase

Chemical Identifiers

• PubChem CID: 53232
• Formula: C24H36O5
• Molecular weight: 404.55 g/mol
• InChIKey: PCZOHLXUXFIOCF-BXMDZJJMSA-N
• SMILES: CC[C@H](C)C(=O)O[C@H]1C[C@H](C=C2[C@H]1[C@H]([C@H](C=C2)C)CC[C@@H]3C[C@H](CC(=O)O3)O)C

References

• PMID 15660968
• PMID 11868800