| Summary: | Due to its ability to lower cholesterol levels, simvastatin is a leading drug for the prevention of strokes and heart disease: it also lowers the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases. Simvastatin is made from lovastatin, a precursor produced by the industrial fungus, <i>Aspergillus terreus</i>. In this study, <i>Corymbia maculata</i> leaves were tested as a novel substrate for the growth of a new isolate of <i>A. terreus</i> and a lovastatin-resistant strain of <i>A. terreus</i> to produce lovastatin. <i>Corymbia maculata</i> (spotted gum) is well utilized by forest industries as a source of timber because of its high strength, durability and smooth texture. However, the leaves are a major waste product. Growth of <i>A. terreus</i> on <i>Corymbia maculata</i> leaves, in solid-state fermentation resulted in the production of lovastatin. Fermentation of media using fresh leaves of <i>Corymbia maculata</i> produced more lovastatin (4.9 mg g<sup>−1</sup>), than the sun-dried leaves (3.2 mg g<sup>−1</sup>). Levels of lovastatin were further increased by the lovastatin-resistant strain of <i>A. terreus</i> (Lvs-r), which produced twice the amount of the parental strain. The production of lovastatin was confirmed by HPLC and LC–MS/MS studies. The study suggests that the utilization of a cheap substrate for the production of lovastatin can have a potential economic benefit.
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