Historical Background

Adrenaline was first isolated by Jokichi Takamine, a Japanese-American chemist. Although technically Takamine gets the credit, it was actually his partner, Keizo Uenaka, who first truly isolated adrenaline. Uenaka, a chemist from Japan, discovered the crystalline form of adrenaline in 1900. Isolated from adrenal medulla, it was the first hormone which could be crystallized. Takamine receives credit for Uenaka's discovery because on November 5, 1900 Takamine applied for a patent with the name "Glandular Extractive Product". As a result of this, Takamine was given the right to use Adrenaline as a trademark. After presenting documents the New York Medical Society and the Society of Chemical Industry in 1901, Takamine wrote and published two more papers about his discoveries. Although it appeared that Takamine had isolated a pure form of adrenaline, he had not. What he had actually isolated was an impure form of adrenaline which was later purified by Stolz in 1904.


	Chemical Facts \| home Historical Background \| Chemical Facts \| Uses \| Bibliography \| Allison Cutting and Amanda Hubbel Historical Background Adrenaline was first isolated by Jokichi Takamine, a Japanese-American chemist. Although technically Takamine gets the credit, it was actually his partner, Keizo Uenaka, who first truly isolated adrenaline. Uenaka, a chemist from Japan, discovered the crystalline form of adrenaline in 1900. Isolated from adrenal medulla, it was the first hormone which could be crystallized. Takamine receives credit for Uenaka's discovery because on November 5, 1900 Takamine applied for a patent with the name "Glandular Extractive Product". As a result of this, Takamine was given the right to use Adrenaline as a trademark. After presenting documents the New York Medical Society and the Society of Chemical Industry in 1901, Takamine wrote and published two more papers about his discoveries. Although it appeared that Takamine had isolated a pure form of adrenaline, he had not. What he had actually isolated was an impure form of adrenaline which was later purified by Stolz in 1904.