People
Veitch, Nigel
| Job Title | Phytochemist |
|---|---|
| Department | Jodrell Laboratory |
| Section | Sustainable Uses |
| Science Teams |
Leguminosae Large-Scale Syntheses |
| Joined Kew | 1992 |
| Foreign Language(s) | Danish |
Qualifications & Appointments
BA (Hons), Univ. Oxford, 1988
MA, Univ. Oxford, 1992
DPhil, Univ. Oxford, 1992.
EMBO Visiting Research Fellow, University of Copenhagen (1989)
Harmsworth Senior Scholar, Merton College, Oxford (1989-1991)
Visiting Lecturer, School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex (1997-1999)
Editorial Advisory Panel, Biochemical Journal
Advisory Editor, Biochemical Systematics and Ecology.
Role
Structure, function and diversity of natural products and macromolecules from plants and fungi; specialist in NMR spectroscopy.
Comparative phytochemistry of the Leguminosae with an emphasis on chemical characters used to investigate taxonomic relationships. Classical methods of natural product isolation and characterisation are used in conjunction with powerful new analytical methodologies such as LC-MS and LC-NMR. These can provide chemical profiles using only small fragments of plant material sourced from either living or preserved collections. Work on the diversity and evolutionary significance of natural products in flowering plants includes a major review of the chemistry and biochemistry of the isoflavonoids of papilionoid legumes commissioned by Natural Product Reports and due for completion in 2006, and extensive overviews of other classes of compound, especially flavonoids. Contribute the phytochemical entries for Genera Orchidacearum (1997-). Characterise natural products of systematic or biological interest isolated by staff, visitors and collaborators, across a wide range of programmes. Responsible for 400 MHz NMR spectrometer at Kew (installed July 2000) and external member of the Medical Research Council Biomedical NMR Centre, National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, London (1992-). Use and develop spectroscopic techniques to determine structures of complex natural products. Studies of the structural basis of biological activity focus on the solution structure of substrate binding sites in plant and fungal enzymes, particularly those belonging to the plant peroxidase superfamily.
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
Isoflavonoids of the Leguminosae
Systematic Phytochemistry of Legumes
Selected Publications 2001-2005
Steele, J.C.P., Veitch, N.C., Kite, G.C., Simmonds, M.S.J. & Warhurst, D.C. (2002). Indole and beta-carboline alkaloids from Geissospermum sericeum, Journal of Natural Products 65: 85-88.
Veitch, N.C., Sutton, P.S.E., Kite, G.C. & Ireland, H.E. (2003). Six new isoflavones and a 5-deoxyflavonol glycoside from the leaves of Ateleia herbert-smithii. Journal of Natural Products 66: 210-216.
Veitch, N.C. (2004). Molecules of interest. Horseradish peroxidase: a modern view of a classic enzyme. Phytochemistry 65; 249-259.
Veitch, N.C., Bristow, J.M., Kite, G.C. & Lewis, G.P. (2005). Mildbraedin, a novel kaempferol tetraglycoside from the tropical forest legume Mildbraediodendron excelsum. Tetrahedron Letters 46: 8595-8598.
Veitch, N.C., Tibbles, L.L., Kite, G.C. & Ireland, H.E. (2005). Flavonol tetraglycosides from Ateleia chicoasensis (Leguminosae). Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 33: 1274-1279.
Selected Publications pre-2001
Veitch, N.C., Gao, Y., Smith, A.T. & White, C.G. (1997). Identification of a critical phenylalanine residue in horseradish peroxidase, Phe179, by site-directed mutagenesis and 1H-NMR: Implications for complex formation with aromatic donor molecules. Biochemistry 36: 14751-14761.
Chang, Y.-T., Veitch, N.C. & Loew, G.H. (1998). A theoretical study of benzhydroxamic acid binding modes in horseradish peroxidase. Journal of the American Chemical Society 120: 5168-5178.
Smith, A.T. & Veitch, N.C. (1998). Substrate binding and catalysis in heme peroxidases. Current Opinion in Chemical Biology 2: 269-278.
Veitch, N.C., Grayer, R.J., Irwin, J.L. & Takeda, K. (1998). Flavonoid cellobiosides from Salvia uliginosa. Phytochemistry 48: 389-393.
Veitch, N.C., Wright, G.A. & Stevenson, P.C. (1999). Four new tetranortriterpenoids from Cedrela odorata associated with leaf rejection by Exopthalmus jekelianus. Journal of Natural Products 62: 1260-1263.