Friedrich Gaedcke

Gaedcke worked in a pharmacy in Rostock and studied in Rostock between 1850 and 1851. In 1856, he took over a pharmacy in Dömitz which he ran for 34 years. He is described as having made contributions to the pharmaceutical history of Mecklenburg^[1]

Working with coca leaves, Gaedcke isolated the cocaine molecule.^[3] Gaedcke named the alkaloid “erythroxyline,” and published a description in the journal Archiv der Pharmazie in 1855.^[4][5] He described the alkaloid as being of small crystal molecules with needle-like points on four to six sides.^[3] He reported the numbing effects of the molecule on himself following a small tongue test.^[3] Gaedcke's research received little attention at the time of its publication but would come to prominence a few years later following further work by Albert Niemann and scientists.^[3] He is believed to have carried out his research in the private laboratory of Franz Leopold Sonnenschein.^[6]