use strict;
my $str = 'Lorem *ipsum dolor* sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Optio repellat ipsa quibusdam ab doloremque accusamus nobis *minima maiores** voluptas, incidunt rerum alias, aliquam ut minus consequatur odio voluptatibus voluptates exercitationem.
';
my $regex = qr/\*([^\*]+?)\*(?!\*)/mp;
my $subst = '<strong>$1</strong>';
my $result = $str =~ s/$regex/$subst/rg;
print "The result of the substitution is' $result\n";
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for Perl, please visit: http://perldoc.perl.org/perlre.html