People
Howes, Melanie-Jayne R.
| Job Title | Pharmacist |
|---|---|
| Department | Jodrell |
| Section | Sustainable Uses |
| Science Teams |
Leguminosae United Kingdom Large-Scale Syntheses |
| Joined Kew | 2001 |
| Foreign Language(s) | French. |
Qualifications & Appointments
BPharm (Hons), King’s College London, 1996
PhD, Pharmacy, King’s College London, 2001
MRPharmS, Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, 1997.
Visiting lecturer, Department of Pharmacy, King’s College London.
Role
Natural products research; authentication and quality assessment associated with pharmacologically active compounds in medicinal plants.
Development, evaluation and application of appropriate analytical techniques for the purpose of authentication and quality assessment of plant material, and the detection of known pharmacologically active compounds. Responding to external enquiries with the collation of information, in regard to pharmacognosy, phytochemistry, toxicology, medicinal plants and their pharmacological activities. Dissemination of information via scientific papers and book chapters on the subjects of neurodegenerative diseases and diabetes. Lectures to pharmacy students (MPharm) on phytochemistry and pharmacognosy. Research interest in structure-activity relationships, with particular emphasis on acetylcholinesterase inhibitor complex QSAR studies, and collaboration with other institutes on related research projects.
Projects
Authentication and Chemical Fingerprinting of Economically Important Species
Diversity of Biologically Active Plants and Plant-Derived Compounds
Importance of Legumes and Legume-Derived Compounds in Medicine and Agriculture
Medicinal Uses of British Plants
Selected Publications 2001-2005
Houghton, P.J. & Howes, M.-J.R. (2005). Natural products and derivatives affecting neurotransmission relevant to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Neurosignals 14(1-2): 6-22.
Kite, G.C., Howes, M.-J.R. & Simmonds, M.S.J. (2004). Metabolomic analysis of saponins in crude extracts of Quillaja saponaria by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry for product authentication. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 18(23): 2859-2870.
Ren, Y., Houghton, P.J., Hider, R.C. & Howes, M.-J.R. (2004). Novel diterpenoid acetylcholinesterase inhibitors from Salvia miltiorhiza. Planta Medica 70(3): 201-204.
Howes, M.-J.R., Simmonds, M.S.J. & Kite, G.C. (2004). Evaluation of the quality of sandalwood essential oils by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Journal of Chromatogratography A.1028(2): 307-312.
Howes, M.-J.R. & Houghton, P.J. (2003). Plants used in Chinese and Indian traditional medicine for improvement of memory and cognitive function. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 75(3): 513-527.
Selected Publications pre-2001
Perry, N.S.L., Howes, M.-J.R., Houghton, P.J. & Perry, E. (2000). Why Sage May be a Wise Remedy: Effects of Salvia on the Nervous System. In Kintzios, S.E. (ed) Sage: The Genus Salvia. Amsterdam:Harwood Academic Publishers. 207-223.