Friedrich Georg Carl (Friedrich) Gaedcke (5 June 1828 – 19 September 1890) was a German chemist. He was the first person to isolate the cocaine alkaloid in 1855.

Life

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

Discovery of Cocaine

Working with coca leaves, Gaedcke isolated the cocaine molecule. Gaedcke named the alkaloid “erythroxyline,” and published a description in the journal Archiv der Pharmazie in 1855. He described the alkaloid as being of small crystal molecules with needle-like points on four to six sides. He reported the numbing effects of the molecule on himself following a small tongue test. 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. He is believed to have carried out his research in the private laboratory of Franz Leopold Sonnenschein.