Joseph Bienaimé Caventou (30 June 1795 – 5 May 1877) was a French pharmacist. He was a professor at the École de Pharmacie (School of Pharmacy) in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He collaborated with

Pierre-Joseph Pelletier Pierre-Joseph Pelletier (, , ; 22 March 1788 – 19 July 1842) was a French chemist and pharmacist who did notable research on vegetable alkaloids Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at leas ...

in a

ian laboratory located behind an

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Ameri ...

. He was a pioneer in the use of mild solvents to isolate a number of active ingredients from plants, making a study of

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

s from vegetables. Among their successes were the isolation of the following compounds: Quinine sulfate later proved to be an important remedy for the disease

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. Quinine is the active anti-malarial ingredient in the bark of cinchona tree. Neither of the partners chose to patent their discovery of this compound, releasing it for everybody to use. In 1823 they discovered

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

in alkaloid compounds. Other compounds they discovered include

colchicine Colchicine is a medication used to treat gout and Behçet's disease. In gout, it is less preferred to NSAIDs or steroids. Other uses for colchicine include the management of pericarditis and familial Mediterranean fever. Colchicine is taken ...

and

veratrine Veratridine is a steroidal alkaloid found in plants of the lily family, specifically the genera ''Veratrum'' and ''Schoenocaulon''. Upon absorption through the skin or mucous membranes, it acts as a neurotoxin by binding to and preventing the ina ...

. The crater Caventou on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

is named after him.

References

Further reading