People
Grayer, Renée J.
| Job Title | Research phytochemist |
|---|---|
| Department | Jodrell |
| Section | Sustainable Uses |
| Science Teams |
Leguminosae United Kingdom Lamiaceae Large-Scale Syntheses |
| Joined Kew | |
| Foreign Language(s) | Dutch (mother tongue), German, French, Latin |
Qualifications & Appointments
"Kandidaats" (BSc), Univ. Leiden.
"Doctoraal", Univ. Leiden.
DSc, Univ. Leiden.
Editorial Board, Biochemical Systematics and Ecology
Role
Chemo-systematics of the Lamiales, especially Lamiaceae; isolation of bioactive compounds, chemical fingerprinting; reviewing chemical diversity.
Comparative phytochemistry of genera belonging to Lamiaceae, e.g. Ocimum, Plectranthus, Thymus and Salvia and other genera belonging to the order Lamiales, especially Veronica (fam. Plantaginaceae, formerly Scrophulariaceae), with the aim to find chemo-systematic markers at the infrageneric or infraspecific levels. The results are compared with classifications based on DNA sequences when available. Methods used include high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detection (DAD, providing ultraviolet spectra of compounds) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation mass spectrometry (APCI-MS) of crude leaf extracts. Novel or chemo-systematically important compounds are isolated and identified with spectroscopic techniques. Both the crude extracts of the species and pure compounds are tested for biological activity, especially insect-antifeedant, antifungal and antibacterial activities. Chemical fingerprinting of economically important plants, including British medicinal herbs, by means of HPLC with DAD and APCI-MS. Each plant species tends to produce its own unique profile of natural products, which are characterised by specific ultraviolet and mass spectra. Therefore, it is often possible to check the identity of plants by means of their HPLC traces. Reviewing the chemical diversity of natural products, especially that of flavonoids, has resulted in five review papers and contributions to eleven chemical encyclopedias or books in the last 20 years.
Projects
Authentication and Chemical Fingerprinting of Economically Important Species
Chemistry of Passiflora (Passifloraceae)
Chemosystematics and Biological Activity of Lamiaceae
Diversity of Biologically Active Plants and Plant-Derived Compounds
Fungal Metabolites: their Ecological Role and Economic Potential
Importance of Legumes and Legume-Derived Compounds in Medicine and Agriculture
Medicinal Uses of British Plants
Systematics, Sustainable Use and Conservation of Tribe Ocimeae (Basil and Allies, Lamiaceae)
Selected Publications 2001-2005
Grayer, R.J., Veitch, N.C., Kite, G.C., Price, A.M. & Kokubun, T. (2001). Distribution of 8-oxygenated leaf-surface flavones in Ocimum. Phytochemistry 56: 559-567.
Grayer, R.J., Kite, G.C., Veitch, N.C., Eckert, M.R., Marin, P.D., Senanayake, P. & Paton, A.J. (2002). Leaf flavonoid glycosides as chemosystematic characters in Ocimum. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 30: 327-342.
Grayer, R.J., Eckert, M.R., Veitch, N.C., Kite, G.C., Marin, P.D., Kokubun, T., Simmonds, M.S.J. & Paton, A.J. (2003). The chemotaxonomic significance of two bioactive caffeic acid esters, nepetoidins A and B, in the Lamiaceae. Phytochemistry 64: 519-528.
Taskova, R., Albach, D. & Grayer, R.J. (2004). Phylogeny of Veronica - a combination of molecular and chemical evidence. Plant Biology 6: 673-682.
Williams, C.A. & Grayer, R.J. (2004). Anthocyanins and other flavonoids. Natural Products Reports 21: 539-573.
Selected Publications pre-2001
Grayer, R.J. & Harborne, J.B. (1994). A survey of antifungal compounds from higher plants, 1982-1993. Phytochemistry 37: 19-42.
Grayer, R.J., Kite, G.C., Goldstone, F.J., Bryan, S.E., Paton, A. & Putievsky, E. (1996). Infraspecific taxonomy and essential oil chemotypes in sweet basil, Ocimum basilicum. Phytochemistry 43: 1033-1039.
Grayer, R.J., Chase, M.W. & Simmonds, M.J.S. (1999). A comparison between chemical and molecular characters for the determination of phylogenetic relationships among plant families: an appreciation of Hegnauer’s Chemotaxonomie der Pflanzen. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 27: 369-393.
Grayer, R.J. & Veitch, N.C. (1999). The phytochemistry of the Apostasioideae and Cypripedioideae. In Pridgeon, A., Cribb, P., Chase, M. & Rasmussen, F. (eds), Genera Orchidacearum. Volume 1. General Introduction, Apostasioideae, Cypripedioideae. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 98, 102, 120, 135, 143, 157 & 163.
Grayer, R.J., Kite, G.C., Abou-Zaid, M. & Archer, L.J. (2000). The application of atmospheric pressure chemical ionization liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in the chemotaxonomic study of flavonoids: characterization of flavonoids from Ocimum gratissimum var. gratissimum. Phytochemical Analysis 11: 257-267.