Interest in compounds that produce a rise in blood pressure was aroused by Oliver and Schäfer1 in 1894, when they found that extracts of the adrenal gland when injected intravenously into animals produced a rise in blood pressure. Intensive study of the gland was begun by Abel,2 von Fürth3 and Takamine.4 It remained for Aldrich5 to demonstrate the true formula for epinephrine, although the value of Abel's contributions is well recognized by the scientific world and it is he who is generally accorded the credit for the first isolation of the principle. This principle he named "epinephrin," while von Fürth and Takamine, respectively, suggested the names "suprarenine" and "adrenalin."
Since the isolation of epinephrine, investigators have attempted to produce more active compounds with more prolonged effectiveness by modifying the structure of the molecule. Although a few changes have resulted in more active preparations, these, in