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{{Short description|Indian chemist}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Manojit Mohan Dhar
| image = [[File:Dr M M Dhar (1971).jpg|Dr M M Dhar (1971)]]
| alt =
| caption =
| other_names = M. M. Dhar
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1927|1|13}}
| birth_place = [[Kolkata]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2003|5|26|1927|1|13}}
| death_place =
| occupation = Chemist, Researcher
| known_for = Studies on peptides and synthesis of the internucleotide bond
| parents = Satyendra Mohan Dhar [[Order of the Indian Empire|C.I.E.]], [[Indian Civil Service|I.C.S.]] (father) <br>Ava Dhar [[Order of the British Empire|M.B.E.]] (mother)<ref name="Academy 2004">{{Cite book |last=Academy |first=Indian National Science |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Biographical_Memoirs_of_Fellows_of_the_I/za3aAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Manojit+Mohan+Dhar+Satyendra&dq=Manojit+Mohan+Dhar+Satyendra&printsec=frontcover |title=Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy |date=2004 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Bhatnagar_Laureates_1958_91/o9srAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Manojit+Mohan+Dhar+Satyendra&dq=Manojit+Mohan+Dhar+Satyendra&printsec=frontcover |title=Bhatnagar Laureates, 1958-91 |date=1992 |publisher=Human Resource Development Group, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research |language=en}}</ref>
| relatives = Chittajit Mohan Dhar, [[Member of the Parliament|M.P]] (cousin)<ref name="Academy 2004">{{Cite book |last=Academy |first=Indian National Science |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Biographical_Memoirs_of_Fellows_of_the_I/za3aAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Manojit+Mohan+Dhar+Satyendra&dq=Manojit+Mohan+Dhar+Satyendra&printsec=frontcover |title=Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy |date=2004 |language=en}}</ref>
| family = [[Dhar Zamindar Bari]]
| awards = {{ublist | 1971 [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]] | 1975 A.V. Mody Research Foundation Award}}
| alma_mater = {{ublist | [[University of Manchester]] }}
}}
'''Manojit Mohan Dhar''' (1927–2003) was an Indian natural product chemist and the director of [[Central Drug Research Institute]].<ref name="Directors">{{Cite web |url=http://www.cdriindia.org/museumpic6.htm |title=Directors |year=2016 |publisher=Central Drug Research Institute |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613031630/http://cdriindia.org/museumpic6.htm |archivedate=13 June 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> He was known for his researches on peptides and the synthesis of the internucleotide bond<ref name="Brief Profile of the Awardee">{{Cite web |url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/content/Detail.aspx?AID=310 |title=Brief Profile of the Awardee |year=2016 |publisher=Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize |access-date=5 October 2016}}</ref> and was an elected fellow of the [[Indian National Science Academy]].<ref name="Deceased fellow">{{Cite web |url=http://insaindia.res.in/deceaseddetail.php?id=N730211 |title=Deceased fellow |year=2016 |publisher=Indian National Science Academy |access-date=5 November 2016 |archive-date=12 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112143937/http://insaindia.res.in/deceaseddetail.php?id=N730211 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]], the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology]], one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1971, for his contributions to chemical sciences.<ref name="View Bhatnagar Awardees">{{cite web | url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/Content/AwardeeList.aspx | title=View Bhatnagar Awardees | publisher=Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize |year=2016 | accessdate=5 October 2016}}</ref>

== Biography ==
M. M. Dhar, born on 13 January 1927, to Satyendra Mohan Dhar [[Order of the Indian Empire|C.I.E.]], [[Indian Civil Service|I.C.S.]] and Ava Dhar [[Order of the British Empire|M.B.E.]]<ref name="Academy 2004">{{Cite book |last=Academy |first=Indian National Science |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Biographical_Memoirs_of_Fellows_of_the_I/za3aAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Manojit+Mohan+Dhar+Satyendra&dq=Manojit+Mohan+Dhar+Satyendra&printsec=frontcover |title=Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy |date=2004 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Bhatnagar_Laureates_1958_91/o9srAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Manojit+Mohan+Dhar+Satyendra&dq=Manojit+Mohan+Dhar+Satyendra&printsec=frontcover |title=Bhatnagar Laureates, 1958-91 |date=1992 |publisher=Human Resource Development Group, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research |language=en}}</ref> Dhar is a descendant of Maharaja Virendra V.M. Dar via father and Sir. [[Krishna Govinda Gupta]] via mother. Dhar secured a PhD from [[Manchester University]] in 1952 for his thesis on peptides and joined [[Central Drug Research Institute]] (CDRI) where he worked as a deputy director, heading the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Botany and subsequently, as the director of the institute.<ref name="Deceased fellow" /> Later, he worked as the counselor of science to the [[High Commission of India to the United Kingdom]]. His researches were focused on the constituents of a number of indigenous plants and he studied their structures with a view to find their therapeutic uses.<ref name="Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners">{{cite web | url=http://www.csirhrdg.res.in/ssb.pdf | title=Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners | publisher=Council of Scientific and Industrial Research | year=1999 | accessdate=5 October 2016 | pages=34 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043957/http://www.csirhrdg.res.in/ssb.pdf | archive-date=4 March 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Thus, he discovered the glycosidase activity of [[decapeptide]]s, [[abortifacient]] properties of [[tetrapeptide]], receptor mimicking of [[acetylcholine]]s and [[immunostimulant]] and [[immunosuppressant]] qualities of ''compounds that target opioid receptors''. He was known to have screened over three thousand indigenous plant species for studying their structures and through his researches, he suggested that the secondary metabolites of microbial origin were formed during the detoxification of toxic constituent of the microorganism. He identified several active ingredients in plants and developed a new method of synthesis of internucleotide bond, using [[pyrimidine]] and purine anhydronucleosides.<ref name="Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners" /> He discovered that the synthesis of quinomycin A could be catalysed by a cell-free extract of [[streptomyces]].<ref name="Bu'Lock1977">{{cite book|author=J. D. Bu'Lock|title=Biosynthesis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tYk1HMEg_SUC&pg=PA288|date=January 1977|publisher=Royal Society of Chemistry|isbn=978-0-85186-543-0|pages=288–}}</ref> He was also a part of the CDRI investigation on parasitic protozoa causing diseases such as [[amoebiasis]], [[leishmaniasis]], [[filariasis]], [[malaria]] and [[helminthiasis]].<ref name="CDRI Researches on Parasitic Protozoa">{{Cite journal |last=S. N., Bhattacharji S., DharM. M. |editor-last=Ghatak |title=CDRI Researches on Parasitic Protozoa |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/parasitology/article/cdri-researches-on-parasitic-protozoa-ghataked-s-n-bhattacharjis-and-dharm-m-194-pages-central-drug-research-institute-lucknow-1987/435E057CB4D838EA57C9F604D2B20B05 |journal=Parasitology |date=June 1988 |volume=96 |issue=3 |pages=643 |doi=10.1017/S0031182000080288|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Dhar published his research findings in a number of articles<ref name="Items for Author Dhar, M M">{{Cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Manojit-M-Dhar-47577624 |title=Manojit M. Dhar's research while affiliated with Central Drug Research Institute and other places |year=2010 |publisher=Central Drug Research Institute}}</ref>{{Refn|group=note|Please see ''Selected bibliography'' section}} and his works have been quoted by many scholars.{{Refn|group=note|Please see ''Citations'' section}} He was associated with [[Bombay Natural History Society]] and [[Indian Chemical Society]] as a life member and sat in the council of Indian National Science Academy from 1988 to 1990. A former chair (1982) of the Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International, he served as the commissioner of India chapter of the [[International Whaling Commission]] in 1982 and was a member of the Indian delegation to United Nations Vienna Conference on S&T for Development in 1979, [[Man and the Biosphere Programme]] conference held in Paris in 1979, [[World Climate Conference]] of Geneva in 1979 and the Heads of Science meeting of [[Group of 77]] in Delhi in 1982.<ref name="Deceased fellow" />

M. M. Dhar died on 26 May 2003 at the age of 76.<ref name="Brief Profile of the Awardee" />

== Awards and honours ==
The [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]] awarded Dhar the [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]], one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1971<ref name="Chemical Sciences">{{cite web|url=http://www.csir.res.in/External/Heads/career/award/BPRIZE/CHEMICAL_SCIENCES.htm |title=Chemical Sciences |publisher=Council of Scientific and Industrial Research |year=2016 |accessdate=7 November 2016 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912012851/http://www.csir.res.in/external/heads/career/award/BPRIZE/CHEMICAL_SCIENCES.htm |archivedate=12 September 2012 }}</ref> and the A. V. Mody Research Foundation Award reached him 1975.<ref name="Deceased fellow" /> In between, the Indian National Science Academy elected him as their fellow in 1973. The Central Drug Research Institute have instituted an annual award, ''Dr. M. M. Dhar Memorial Distinguished Career Achievement Award'', for honouring excellence in research in chemical sciences.<ref name="India may get new anti-TB drug next month: DG ICMR">{{Cite web |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/India-may-get-new-anti-TB-drug-next-month-DG-ICMR/articleshow/51027436.cms |title=India may get new anti-TB drug next month: DG ICMR |date=17 February 2016 |work=The Times of India}}</ref><ref name="CDRI Students Awards">{{Cite web |url=http://www.cdriindia.org/Newsletters/English-Newsletter-2015.pdf |title=CDRI Students Awards |date=October 2016 |publisher=Central Drug Research Institute}}</ref>

== Citations ==
* {{cite book|title=Profiles of Drug Substances, Excipients and Related Methodology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TuNsZH2pkSgC&pg=PA425|date=2 May 1975|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=978-0-08-086099-2|pages=425–}}
* {{cite book|author=Michael F. Grundon|title=The Alkaloids|url=https://archive.org/details/alkaloids0000grun|url-access=registration|date=January 1976|publisher=Royal Society of Chemistry|isbn=978-0-85186-307-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/alkaloids0000grun/page/166 166]–}}
* {{cite book|author=Bep Oliver-Bever|title=Medicinal Plants in Tropical West Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e1I9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA286|date=23 January 1986|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-26815-8|pages=286–}}
* {{cite book|author1=Mahendra Rai|author2=Deepak Acharya|author3=José Luis Rios|title=Ethnomedicinal Plants: Revitalizing of Traditional Knowledge of Herbs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UoDRBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA240|date=1 February 2011|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4398-5362-7|pages=240–}}
* {{cite book|author=S.W. Pelletier|title=Alkaloids: Chemical and Biological Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0gXBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA153|date=22 October 2013|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-1-4832-8784-3|pages=153–}}
* {{cite book|author=E. J. Ariëns|title=Drug Design: Medicinal Chemistry: A Series of Monographs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rQwlBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA250|date=21 January 2016|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-1-4832-1611-9|pages=250–}}

== Selected bibliography ==
* {{Cite journal |last=S. N., Bhattacharji S., DharM. M. |editor-last=Ghatak |title=CDRI Researches on Parasitic Protozoa |journal=Parasitology |page=643 |doi=10.1017/S0031182000080288}}
* {{Cite journal |author1=N. A. Bailey |author2=C. P. Falshaw |author3=W. D. Ollis |author4=M. Watanabe |author5=M. M. Dhar |author6=A. W. Khan |author7=V. C. Vora |year=1968 |title=The constitution of resistomycin |journal=Chem. Commun. |issue=7 |pages=374–376 |doi=10.1039/C19680000374}}
* {{Cite journal |vauthors=Dhar ML, Dhar MM, Dhawan BN, Mehrotra BN, Ray C |year=1968 |title=Screening of Indian plants for biological activity: I. |journal=Indian J Exp Biol |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=232–47 |pmid=5720682}}
* {{Cite journal |vauthors=Bhakuni DS, Dhar ML, Dhar MM, Dhawan BN, Mehrotra BN |year=1969 |title=Screening of Indian plants for biological activity. II |journal=Indian J Exp Biol |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=250–62 |pmid=5359097}}
* {{Cite journal |vauthors=Bhakuni DS, Dhar ML, Dhar MM, Dhawan BN, Gupta B, Srimal RC |year=1971 |title=Screening of Indian plants for biological activity. 3. |journal=Indian J Exp Biol |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=91–102 |pmid=5089325}}
* {{Cite journal |vauthors=Dhar ML, Dhar MM, Dhawan BN, Mehrotra BN, Srimal RC, Tandon JS |year=1973 |title=Screening of Indian plants for biological activity. IV |journal=Indian J Exp Biol |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=43–54 |pmid=4779295}}
* {{Cite journal |author1=Jagat P.S. Sarin |author2=Satyawan Singh |author3=H.S. Garg |author4=N.M. Khanna |author5=M.M. Dhar |year=1976 |title=A flavonol glycoside with anticancer activity from Tephrosia candida |journal=Phytochemistry |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=232–234 |doi=10.1016/S0031-9422(00)89101-3|bibcode=1976PChem..15..232S }}

== See also ==
* [[Decapeptide]]
* [[Tetrapeptide]]
* [[Acetylcholine]]
{{portal|India|Chemistry}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{SSBPST recipients in Chemical Science}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhar, Manojit Mohan}}
[[Category:Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Chemical Science]]
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian chemists]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Manchester]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy]]
[[Category:Members of the Bombay Natural History Society]]

Manojit Mohan Dhar - Revision history

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