L'Analyse chimique des végétaux: Le cas du quinquina

Abstract

En 1820 J. Pelletier et J.-B. Caventou, deux pharmaciens-chimistes fran †ais travaillant a ' l'Ecole de Pharmacie de Paris, extraient de l'e ! corce de quinquina une nouvelle substance : la quinine. Cet exemple nous permet d'illustrer le processus qui me ' ne du produit naturel brut a ' l'isolement d'un principe actif et a ' sa production industrielle sous forme de me ! dicament. Ceci nous autorise a ' discuter du de ! veloppement de l'analyse chimique en relation avec la pharmacie, l' histoire naturelle, la me ! decine et l' industrie pharmaceutique naissante. La dynamique des disciplines qui est implique ! e ici montre comment la chimie organique, alors en plein essor, se de ! veloppe et devient une discipline autonome. Les aspects the ! oriques, en particulier la the ! orie atomique, et les innovations pratiques sont implique ! s dans les me ! thodes scienti® ques de ! veloppe ! es par la premie ' re ge ! ne ! ration ayant inte ! gre ! la nouvelle chimie a ' leurs travaux quotidiens. Au-dela ' de ces aspects historiques, cet article se propose de montrer comment une approche holistique peut contribuer au de ! bat sur la de ! couverte et l'invention dans le cas d'une science souvent quali® e ! e d'empirique. SummaryIn 1820, J. Pelletier and J.-B. Caventou, two French pharmacist-chemists working at the Ecole de Pharmacie of Paris, extracted quinine, a new substance, from cinchona bark. We use this example to illustrate the processes which lead from a crude natural product through the isolation of an active principle to the production of a pure manufactured drug. This allows us to discuss the development of chemical analysis in relation to pharmacy, natural history, medicine and the early pharmaceutical industry. The dynamics of the disciplines involved here show how organic chemistry, which was developing rapidly during these crucial years, expanded and became autonomous. Theoretical aspects (and in particular atomic theory) and practical innovations are relevant to the scienti® c methods developed by the ® rst generation of those who integrated the new chemistry into their daily work. Beyond these historical issues, this paper aims to show how a holistic approach can contribute to the debate on discovery and invention in a science that is often considered empirical.

Therapeutic effects of quinine in a mouse model of atopic dermatitis

“…Quinine is a TAS2R agonist that was purified in 1820 ( 14 ). A large number of medical cases have reported that quinine is a drug specific for malarial fever ( 15 , 16 ).…”

Louis Pasteur, Chemist: An Account of His Studies of Cinchona Alkaloids

“…The cinchona alkaloids are an important group of compounds whose occurrence, [22,23] synthesis, [24 -28] and other aspects [29][30][31][32][33] have received a great deal of attention, but Pasteur's considerable and pioneering work on cinchona alkaloids has not been examined in detail in the relevant literature. Therefore, the present article undertakes an analysis of Pasteur's studies of these substances and closely relevant matters, but the massive literature on the wide-ranging aspects of the cinchona alkaloids will not be covered here.…”