Born 22 Mar 1788; died 19 Jul 1842 at age 54.

French chemist who is known for his research in partnership with Joseph-Bienaimé Caventou into #vegetable bases and the resulting contributions of #alkaloid #chemistry to the field of #medicine.

They helped found the chemistry of vegetable alkaloids. They isolated #chlorophyll (1817), for which they coined the French name chlorophyle in Ann. de Chimie(1818), IX, 195.

Their alkaloid discoveries included #strychnine (1818), #brucine (1819), #quinine (1820), caffeine (1821), and #cinchonine. In 1823, using elementary closed-tube analyses in which the alkaloids were combusted, they discovered #nitrogen was present in the compounds.

Alkaloids are organic compounds which form water-soluble salts that perform various functions in medicine, including #analgesics (pain-killers), and respiratory #stimulants.