Mevastatin is primarily used to lower cholesterol levels in the blood by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme involved in cholesterol synthesis in the liver. This inhibition reduces the production of cholesterol, leading to increased clearance of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol from the bloodstream. As a result, it helps in managing hypercholesterolemia and reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, heart attack, and stroke. Although not widely used clinically due to the development of more effective statins, mevastatin served as the foundational compound for the development of later statin drugs. It is also used in research settings to study cholesterol metabolism and the effects of lipid-lowering agents.