Phytochemisry and Phytopharmacology
Dr. Rajani Kurup SR
Qualification:
PhD: Botany-Chemistry (interdisciplinary)
Specialization : extraction, screening and isolation of secondary metabolites of plants .Extraction and chemical characterization of essential oils from various plant parts.Specialized in GC-FID, GC-MS, HPTLC & HPLC analysis.
Personal Biography
As a technical officer, she has more than 28 years of experience in the extraction, isolation, and chemical characterization of secondary metabolites from tropical aromatic and medicinal plants. She has more than 27 research papers in peer-reviewed journals and 11 chapters in books. She co-supervised more than 30 graduate and postgraduate students from various universities. Recipient of the Dr. P.D. Sethi Annual Award 2010 for the publication in Industrial Crops and Products and also received a Certificate of Merit in 2011 for the publication in the Journal of Experimental Botany.
Projects & Selected Publications
Ongoing Projects
- 2023-2024: sustainable utilization of medicinal, aromatic and other potential economic plants of the Kerala region of Western Ghats through phytochemical and pharmacological means, Plan project , Co.PI in COMPONENT A & COMPONENT C
Publications
- Munduvelil Thomas Thomas, Rajani Kurup, Anil John Johnson, Sreeja Purushothaman Chandrika, Paravanparampil Jacob Mathew, Mathew Dan, Sabulal Baby (2010). Elite geno-/chemotypes, with high contents of madecassoside and asiaticoside, from sixty accessions of Centella asiatica of south India and the Andaman Islands: for cultivation and utility in cosmetic and herbal drug applications. Industrial Crops and Products - IF: 6.449; Elsevier. DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2010.07.003.
- Rajani Kurup, Anil John Johnson, Sreethu Sankar, Abdul Azeez Hussain, Chellappan Sathish Kumar, Sabulal Baby (2013). Fluorescent Prey Traps in Carnivorous Plants. Plant Biology- IF: 3.877; Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1438-8677.2012.00709.
- Haridas Pulikkalpura, Rajani Kurup, Paravanparampil Jacob Mathew, Sabulal Baby (2015). Levodopa in Mucuna pruriens and its degradation. Scientific Reports – IF: 4.997; Nature Portfolio. DOI: 10.1038/srep11078
- Ajikumaran Nair S, Rajani Kurup SR, Akhila S Nair, Sabulal Baby(2018). Citrus peels prevent cancer. Phytomedicine – IF: 6.656; Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2017.08.011
- Kumar, Akhil Sree, Rajani Kurup Sukumaryamma Remadevi, Anil John Johnson, Vinayak Venukumar, Farzana M. Sha, Thania Sara Varghese, and Sabulal Baby (2023). Elettaria cardamomum leaves, an underutilized resource: chemical profile of its essential oil and insecticidal activity, Journal of Essential Oil Research – IF: 2.532 ; Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.1080/10412905.2023.2197437.
Position: Technical Officer Gr. IV
Mobile No: 9745275669
Email: rajanikurupsr@gmail.com
Work Experience
The individual possesses a versatile skill set and experience in various areas of plant science and analytical chemistry, including essential oil isolation and chemical characterization, screening elite accessions of medicinal plants, extraction and isolation of plant secondary metabolites, work in prey capture mechanism studies in carnivorous plants, evaluation of in vitro antioxidant activity, and estimation of bioactive molecules using HPTLC and GC. They are also experienced in using a range of analytical instruments such as Camag HPTLC, Shimadzu GC-FID, Shimadzu HPLC, Heto Lyophiliser, Shimadzu UV-Visible spectrophotometer, ABB-Bomem FT-IR spectrometer, and Rudolf Digital Polarimeter.