For
decades such extracts were used directly from their natural sources. This practice has
many disadvantages, as the composition of the extract can vary from time to time and it is
highly dependent on the availability of the natural source. At the beginning of the 19th
century chemists made the first attempts to isolate the active components within these
natural mixtures. The first compound to be isolated and purified was morphine from
opium. Sertürner accomplished this by extracting opium with hot water and precipitating
morphine with ammonia. He obtained colorless crystals that were poorly soluble in water
but soluble in acids and alcohol. To make sure that the effect of the compound was
identical to that of raw opium he tested the crystals on himself…