Discovery and development of statins trials showed very good inhibitory effect as in clinical trials, however in a long term toxicity study in dogs it resulted in toxic effects at higher doses and as a result was believed to be too toxic to be given to humans. In 1978, Alfred Alberts and colleagues at Merck Research Laboratories discovered a new natural product in a fermentation broth of "Aspergillus terreus", their product showed good HMGR inhibition and they named the product mevinolin, which later became known as lovastatin. The cholesterol controversy began in the early promotion of statins. Statins are a competitive antagonists of HMG CoA,
Biodiversity and drugs example, caffeine, methyl salicylate and quinine. Streptomycin, neomycin, and erythromycin are derived from tropical soil fungi. A lot of plant species are used in today's studies and have been exhaustively studied for their potential value as source of drugs. It is possible that some plant species may be a source of drugs against high blood pressure, AIDS or heart troubles. In China, Japan, India and Germany, there is a great deal of interest in and support for the search for new drugs from higher plants. Each species carries unique genetic material in its DNA and in its chemical factory responding