CHz\HO^0 OH
MorphineBy the latter half of the nineteenth century a pharmaceutical
industry was emerging. Initially, their business was extraction and
purification of chemicals from plants, making them available for med-
ical use. Then semisynthetic substances were introduced; beginning
with a plant-derived compound, synthetic chemical modifications
were made in an attempt to improve the action or reduce the toxicity.
A pioneer in this regard was the Bayer Company in Germany, where
morphine was reacted with acetic acid to produce diacetylmorphine,
and salicylic acid from the willow tree was acetylated to form acetyl-
salicylic acid. The first product was introduced to the market in 1898
as an analgesic and cough medicine having the brand name Heroin.
The second was introduced in 1899 as an analgesic with the brand
name Aspirin.