We congratulate Dr. Morris Keller for his excellent PhD thesis, which he defended on June 22nd 2023 at the University of Basel.
Title of the PhD thesis: “Isolation and Characterization of Anti-Inflammatory and Immunomodulatory Compounds from Higher Plants”
Morris Keller investigated 3 plants used in the TM: Hyptis brachiata (Lamiaceae), Safran – Crocus sativus (Iridaceae) and Teucrium polium subsp. capitatum (Lamiaceae).
He isolated 49 complex bioactive substances and elucidated their structures. A dozen of those natural products are novel, meaning they were described for the first time in literature, see references. Morris’ excellent work was awarded with «Summa cum laude».
Morris Keller is not only an outstanding scientist, but was outstandingly supportive for the members of the team.
Morris accepted to present his work on our next symposium on March 23rd 2024.
References:
Hyptis brachiata:
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- M. Keller, M. Winker, A.M. Zimmermann-Klemd, N. Sperisen, M.P. Gupta, P.N. Solis, M. Hamburger, O. Potterat, C. Gründemann, Aryltetralin lignans from Hyptis brachiata inhibiting T lymphocyte proliferation, Biomed. Pharmacother. 160 (2023) 114328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2023.114328.
Crocus sativus:
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- M. Keller, S. Fankhauser, N. Giezendanner, M. König, F. Keresztes, O. Danton, O. Fertig, L. Marcourt, M. Hamburger, V. Butterweck, O. Potterat, Saponins from Saffron Corms Inhibit the Gene Expression and Secretion of Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines, J. Nat. Prod. 84 (2021) 630–645.https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.0c01220.
Teucrium polium:
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- S. Chabane, A. Boudjelal, M. Keller, S. Doubakh, O. Potterat, Teucrium polium – wound healing potential, toxicity and polyphenolic profile, South African J. Bot. 137 (2021) 228–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2020.10.017.
- M. Keller, S. Chabane, A. Boudjelal, O. Danton, A. Prescimone, M. Hamburger, O. Potterat, New neo-clerodane diterpenes from Teucrium polium subsp. capitatum, J. Mol. Struct. 1284 (2023) 135447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molstruc.2023.135447