History/Etiology

Nicotine is named after the tobacco plant Nocotiana tabacum. It got its name from Jean Nicot, a French ambassador, who sent both tobacco and seeds from Portugal to Paris in 1550 and actively promoted their use for medicinal purposes. Nicotine was first isolated from the tobacco plant in 1828 by German chemists, Posselt and Reimann. Its’ chemical empirical formula was described by Melsens in 1843, and it was first synthesized by Pictet and Crepieus in 1893.