Friedrich Sertürner

Friedrich Wilhelm Adam Sertürner (19 June 1783 – 20 February 1841) was a German pharmacist, best known for his discovery of morphine, a powerful alkaloid derived from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), as the active ingredient in opium. His work marked the dawn of the modern era of pharmacology, as it was the first time that an active ingredient was extracted from a plant, leading to the development of a whole new class of medicines.

Early Life[edit | edit source]

Friedrich Sertürner was born in Neuhaus, now a part of Paderborn, in the Electorate of Hanover. Little is known about his early life before he began an apprenticeship with a local pharmacist at the age of 16. His interest in chemistry and medicine quickly became apparent, setting the stage for his later discoveries.

Discovery of Morphine[edit | edit source]

In 1804, while working as an assistant in a pharmacy, Sertürner began experimenting with opium in an attempt to isolate its active components. His groundbreaking work led to the isolation of a pure substance from opium which he initially named "morphium", after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams, due to its sleep-inducing properties. This discovery was not initially recognized by the scientific community, and it took several years before his research was published in 1817. Sertürner's work demonstrated for the first time that plants contained specific chemical compounds that were responsible for their medicinal effects, a concept that laid the foundation for the field of alkaloid chemistry.

Later Life and Legacy[edit | edit source]

Despite his significant contribution to science, Sertürner lived much of his life in relative obscurity and financial difficulty. He continued to work as a pharmacist in Einbeck and later in Hameln, where he also served as the town's mayor. Sertürner's discovery of morphine eventually gained widespread recognition, and he received several honors later in life, including the title of Royal Hanoverian Hofrat. He died in Hameln in 1841.

Sertürner's work has had a lasting impact on medicine and pharmacology. Morphine remains one of the most important and widely used analgesics for the treatment of severe pain. His methodology, which involved isolating active ingredients from plants, set the standard for the development of drugs from natural sources.