Mevastatin is a carboxylic ester that is pravastatin that is lacking the allylic hydroxy group. A hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitor (statin) isolated from Penicillium citrinum and from Penicillium brevicompactum, its clinical use as a lipid-regulating drug ceased following reports of toxicity in animals. It has a role as an antifungal agent, an apoptosis inducer, a fungal metabolite, a Penicillium metabolite and an EC 3.4.24.83 (anthrax lethal factor endopeptidase) inhibitor. It is a member of hexahydronaphthalenes, a polyketide, a carboxylic ester, a member of 2-pyranones and a statin (naturally occurring).
