Lowering Agents Hypolipemics

Some of the most exciting natural products discovered in recent years are the cholesterol-lowering agents derived from fungi (see Chapter 45). These drugs inhibit 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase), an enzyme critical in the biosynthesis of choles- 

The immunomodulator cyclosporin was originally isolated from a soil fungus, Trichoderma polysporum (see Chapter 40). This compound was a major breakthrough for organ transplantation, because it suppressed immunological rejection of the transplanted organ. Tacrolimus (FK-506), a secondary metabolite of Streptomyces tsukabaensis, was approved in 1994 for use as an immunosuppressant in organ transplantation (De Smet, 1997). 

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