Lovastatin-producing endophytic fungus isolated from a medicinal plant Solanum xanthocarpum

Lovastatin is a potent drug for lowering blood cholesterol. An endophytic fungus Phomopsis vexans was isolated from the healthy leaf tissues of Solanum xanthocarpum, a medicinal plant, and screened for lovastatin production. The fungus was identified by their characteristic cultural morphology and molecular analysis. The strain had a component with the same TLC R-f value and HPLC retention time as authentic lovastatin. The presence of lovastatin was further confirmed by FT-IR, UV, H-1, C-13 NMR and LC-MS analyses. The amount of lovastatin produced by this endophytic fungus was quantified to be 550mg/L, and thus the fungus can serve as a potential material to improve the production of lovastatin.