Niemann, Albert

German chemist, Albert Niemann, separates cocaine from the coca leaf. 

Coca leaves were not used in Europe or the United States because coca leaves do not travel well. But in 1860, a German chemist, Albert Niemann, separated cocaine from the leaf. In doing so, he unleashed the most powerful naturally occurring stimulant. In the salt form (cocaine hydrochloride), which is commonly known as powder cocaine, it travels very well. Soon, large quantities were being consumed abroad. 

Cocaine was first isolated in 1860 by a chemist named Albert Niemann. Like most organic chemists before and after, Niemann had the habit of tasting compounds that he isolated. On this particular occasion Niemann noted that it caused a numbing of the tongue. Carl Roller, who used it as a topical anesthetic for ophthalmological surgery, first introduced cocaine into clinical practice in 1884. Subsequently, cocaine became popular for its use in infiltration and conduction block anesthesia. 

Cocaine as it is known today—in a synthesized form— was first isolated from the coca plant in 1855 by a German chemist named Albert Niemann. A paste is made from the leaves of the plant. Then this paste is heated with hydrochloric acid to produce cocaine hydrochloride. This is the most common form of cocaine the white powder that is separated into fine lines, a few inches long, and then inhaled into the nose. When it is found in powder form, its purity can be anywhere from zero to 90 percent pure. In the form known as crack or rock, it is generally 25 percent to 40 percent pure. 

Spaniards carried the plant back to Europe, where it failed to generate much inters , most likely because the coca leaves had lost their potency during the long voyage from Peru. Centuries later, a German chemist named Albert Niemann from the University of Gottingen experimented with attempts to isolate the drug from the plant s leaf. In 1858, he succeeded. 

---