Friedrich Sertürner first isolates morphine

Background. Friedrich Sertürner, a German pharmacist born in 1783, completed his apprenticeship in 1803. He began working on the isolation of morphine from opium in 1804. Morphine is an analgesic alkaloid found in opium, which is produced by drying the latex of opium poppies. Sertürner's work was pivotal in identifying the active ingredient associated with a medicinal plant.

Experimental Process. Sertürner conducted tests to evaluate the physiological effects of the isolated compound. He initially observed drowsiness in rats and stray dogs. His 1806 paper described testing an impure alcoholic extract on a mouse and three dogs, one of which died. He also performed self-experiments to assess the substance's effects, relying on animal and human testing between 1804 and 1816.

Publication and Recognition. Sertürner published findings in 1805, initially referring to the compound as meconic acid. A comprehensive paper detailing isolation, crystallization, and pharmacological properties was published in 1817. This work established morphine as the first alkaloid isolated from any plant, encouraging further alkaloid isolations by 1820. His discovery is recognized as the first isolation of a medicinal alkaloid from a plant.