This can be life-threatening if not recognised and treated in time, so any unexplained muscle pain or weakness whilst on lovastatin should be promptly mentioned to the prescribing doctor. Other uncommon side effects that should be promptly mentioned to either the prescribing doctor or an emergency medical service include:

These less serious side effects should still be reported if they persist or increase in severity:

Contraindications
Contraindications, conditions that warrant withholding treatment with lovastatin, include pregnancy, breast feeding, and liver disease. Lovastatin is contraindicated during pregnancy (Pregnancy Category X); it may cause birth defects such as skeletal deformities or learning disabilities. Owing to its potential to disrupt infant lipid metabolism, lovastatin should not be taken while breastfeeding. Patients with liver disease should not take lovastatin. Interactions
As with atorvastatin, simvastatin, and other statin drugs metabolized via CYP3A4, drinking grapefruit juice during lovastatin therapy may increase the risk of side effects. Components of grapefruit juice, the flavonoid naringin, or the furanocoumarin bergamottin inhibit CYP3A4 in vitro, and may account for the in vivo effect of grapefruit juice concentrate decreasing the metabolic clearance of lovastatin, and increasing its plasma concentrations. Mechanism of action
Lovastatin is an inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase), an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate. Mevalonate is a required building block for cholesterol biosynthesis and lovastatin interferes with its production by acting as a reversible competitive inhibitor for HMG-CoA, which binds to the HMG-CoA reductase.
Stereoselective preparation of (E,E)-diene was accomplished by addition of trans-crotyl phenyl sulfone anion, followed by quenching with Ac2O and subsequent reductive elimination of sulfone acetate. Condensation of this with lithium anion of dimethyl methylphosphonate gave compound 1. Compound 2 was synthesized as shown in the scheme in the synthetic procedure. Compounds 1 and 2 were then combined using 1.3 eq sodium hydride in THF followed by reflux in chlorobenzene for 82 hr under nitrogen to get the enone 3. Simple organic reactions were used to get to lovastatin as shown in the scheme. Society and culture
Natural sources
Lovastatin is a naturally occurring compound found in low concentrations in food such as oyster mushrooms, red yeast rice, and Pu-erh. Brand names
Mevacor, Advicor (as a combination with niacin), Altocor, Altoprev

Other applications
In plant physiology, lovastatin has occasionally been used as inhibitor of cytokinin biosynthesis. See also
Medicinal fungi

References
External links
 Media related to Lovastatin at Wikimedia Commons

"Lovastatin". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine.