Lovastatin: an Inhibitor of Cholesterol Biosynthsis from Pleurotus Mushroom
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Date
2008-01
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Lovastatin is a secondary metabolite of certain filamentous fungi. It is one of the
members of the drug family, statins. Lovastatin, inhibitor of cholesterol
biosynthesis, is widely prescribed for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. Statins
have also recently been shown to inhibit HIV-1 infection by targeting cholesterol in
the HIV and host membrane. This research was performed to determine the
production of lovastatin from fruit body cultivated on sugarcane bagasse and solidstate
fermentation on different substrate (Sorghum, Rice and Wheat bran) of two
Pleurotus mushrooms species that are edible and commercially cultivated in
Ethiopia. The two mushrooms investigated, P. ostreatus and P. sajor-caj, grown in
mushroom growing house on sugarcane bagasse (60% moisture content), and
yielded an average bioconversion efficiency of 22.58% and 17.67 % respectively.
Ethyl acetate was selected as better solvent for extraction of lovastatin in lactone
form from acidified samples that were detected on Thin Layer Chromatography
(TLC). The crude extracts from fruit bodies of both species show positive result on
TLC with same Retention factor (Rf= 0.57and 0.3 for lactone and acid form
respectively) which was identical to the standard lovastatin. The TLC result of
Solid-State Fermentation (SSF) on rice and wheat bran showed the presence of
lovastatin whereas sorghum gives a negative result. For quantification, extraction of
lovastatin (β-hydroxyl acid) from fruit body as well as SSF was performed with
mixture of methanol: water (1:1 V/V) that was chosen as the most effective solvent
for High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis at pH 7.7. Highest
amount of lovastatin was found from methanol: water (1:1 V/V) extracts of P.
ostreatus fruiting body (132μg/g) of dry weight followed by P. sajor-caju
(129μg/g). Among SSF, methanol: water extracts of fermented wheat bran and rice
gave (11.7μg/g) and (3.69μg/g) of dry weight respectively. The HPLC result of
samples prepared with ethyl acetate show low amount of lovastatin. The health
benefits of consuming the Pleurotus mushroom particularly for individuals with
high plasma cholesterol as well as HIV infection is promising and it grows on a
variety of agricultural residues with high bioconversion efficiency.
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Biology