Palpu Pushpangadan
Director General
Amity Institute for Herbal and Biotech Products Development (AIHBPD)
India
Biography
: Palpu Pushpangadan was born on 23 January 1944 at Prakkulam in Kollam district in Kerala, is a former Director of the Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI) in Kerala. He is also a former Director of the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow and Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram. He received the Padmashri Award from the Government of India in 2010. Pushpangadan is known for his contribution to plant sciences. He has got multidisciplinary training in cytogenetics, plant breeding, bioprospecting, biotechnology, conservation biology, ethnobiology, ethnopharmacology and pharmacognosy. He has published about 317 research papers/articles in various national and international journals, authored/edited 15 books, contributed 41 chapters in books in taxonomy, plant breeding, conservation biology, biotechnology, ethnobiology, ethnopharmacology and IPR, etc. Filed/Awarded 85 patents in herbal drugs/products jointly with other scientists. 15 of his patented products are already commercialized. He has received many national and international medals/awards including the prestigious UNEP Borlaug Award in 1998, the UN-Equator Initiative Award in 2002 at World Summit at Johannesburg, South Africa in September 2002, Ayurved Gaurav Award 2009 and Padma Shri Award in 2010. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), the National Academy of Sciences (FNASc), the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (FNAASc) and also Fellow of Seven Other Scientific Bodies in India. He is the President of National Society of Ethnopharmacology, India.
Research Interest
Research interest in Cytogenetics & Plant Breeding, Biotechnology, Molecular Taxonomy, Biosynthesis of Secondary Metabolites, Ethnobiology, Ethnopharmacology, Bioprospecting and Natural Product Development.