Introduction
Simvastatin, (together with mevastatin and lovastatin in Figure 1), a hypolipidemic drug belonging to the “statin” family, is commonly used to control elevated cholesterol levels and to prevent cardiovascular diseases. It greatly inhibits the production of mevalonate, which is responsible for the endogenous synthesis of cholesterol, through competitive binding of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutarylcoenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase. The drug is often administrated orally in tablet form as a lactone containing 5-80 mg simvastatin as the active pharmaceutical ingredient, along with the inactive ingredient including cellulose, lactose, starch, etc.
