Friedrich Serturner (1783-1841) successfully isolated the morphine crystals contained in dried poppy resin, thus creating a powerful new painkilling substance that could be prescribed by physicians in predictable potencies.

In 1803, young Friedrich Serturner was a 20-year-old pharmacy apprentice with limited education. Yet, through diligent research, he successfully isolated and extracted morphine crystals from a tarry opium substance called poppy seed juice. In doing so, he became the first chemist ever to isolate and identify the active ingredient associated with a medicinal herb or plant. Furthermore, Serturner's discovery enabled physicians to prescribe morphine in regulated dosages. It was a powerful new method for easing pain and eliminated the dangers of overdose associated with raw poppy juice, which varied unpredictably in its concentration of morphine from one batch to another.

Isolation of Morphine

Serturner was born Friedrich Wilhelm Adam Ferdinand Serturner in Neuhaus, Prussia, in 1783. His Austrian parents, Joseph Simon...