{{Short description|French pharmacist (1795–1877)}} {{redirect|Caventou|the lunar crater|Caventou (crater)}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Joseph Bienaimé Caventou | image = Joseph Bienaimé Caventou.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth date|1795|6|30|df=y}} | birth_place = Saint-Omer, French First Republic | death_date = {{death date and age|1877|5|5|1795|6|30|df=y}} | death_place = Paris, French Third Republic | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} --> | residence = | citizenship = | fields = Pharmacology, chemistry | workplaces = | alma_mater = Ecole de Pharmacie de Paris | known_for = Isolating alkaloids from vegetables | influences = | influenced = | awards = Elected to the Académie Nationale de Médecine in 1821 | spouse = }} '''Joseph Bienaimé Caventou''' ({{IPA|fr|ʒozɛf bjɛ̃nɛme kavɑ̃tu}}; 30 June 1795 – 5 May 1877) was a French pharmacist. He was a professor at the École de Pharmacie (School of Pharmacy) in Paris. He collaborated with Pierre-Joseph Pelletier in a Parisian laboratory located behind an apothecary. He was a pioneer in the use of mild solvents to isolate a number of active ingredients from plants, making a study of alkaloids from vegetables. Among their successes were the isolation of the following compounds:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" !Year !Isolated compound(s) !Source |- |1817 |Chlorophyll |&nbsp; |- |1817 |Emetine |Ipecacuanha |- |1818 |Strychnine |Nux vomica |- |1819 |Brucine |Nux vomica |- |1820 |Cinchonine and quinine |Cinchona bark |- |1821 |Caffeine |&nbsp; |}

Quinine sulfate later proved to be an important remedy for the disease malaria. Quinine is the active anti-malarial ingredient in the bark of cinchona tree.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Haas L |title=Pierre Joseph Pelletier (1788–1842) and Jean Bienaime Caventou (1795–1887) |journal=J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry |volume=57 |issue=11 |pages=1333 |year=1994 |pmid=7964807 |doi=10.1136/jnnp.57.11.1333 |pmc=1073182}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Kyle R, Shampe M |title=Discoverers of quinine |journal=JAMA |volume=229 |issue=4 |pages=462 |year=1974 |pmid=4600403 |doi=10.1001/jama.229.4.462}}</ref>

Neither of the partners chose to patent their discovery of this compound, releasing it for everybody to use. In 1823 they discovered nitrogen in alkaloid compounds. Other compounds they discovered include colchicine and veratrine.

The crater Caventou on the Moon is named after him.

== References == {{reflist}}

== Further reading == * {{cite journal | author = Delepine, Marcel | title = Joseph Pelletier and Joseph Caventou | journal = Journal of Chemical Education | year = 1951 | volume = 28 | issue = September| pages = 454–461 | doi = 10.1021/ed028p454 }}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caventou, Joseph Bienaime}} Category:People from Saint-Omer Category:1795 births Category:1877 deaths Category:19th-century French chemists Category:French biochemists