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Apomorphine is a synthetic opioid that has been known since at least 1871, when German researcher E. L. Mayer treated the natural drug morphine with . About 70 years later, Lyndon Small*, Burt F. Faris, and James Mallonee at the University of Virginia (Charlottesville) of this reaction (without ZnCl₂, which is apparently unnecessary).¹

In 1973, John L. Neumeyer and colleagues at Arthur D. Little (Cambridge, MA) and Sterling-Winthrop Research Institute (New York) reported the and other morphine and codeine derivatives. Eight years later, Vishnu J. Ram and Neumeyer*, now at Northeastern University (Boston) from the natural opiates thebaine² and bulbocapnine³.

Unlike, many opioids, apomorphine has several medical uses not related pain management. In humans, it has such diverse applications as a Parkinson’s disease drug, as an emetic, and most recently, as a treatment for erectile dysfunction. It has also been touted as a treatment for heroin addiction, but no clinical evidence has shown that it is effective for this purpose.

Apomorphine can be used as an emetic for dogs when they ingest poisonous substances such as antifreeze. It must, however, be injected because it travels too slowly through the blood–brain barrier when given orally.

Apomorphine is somewhat unstable; it decomposes and turns green when it is exposed to light and air. It is much more stable as its hydrochloride hemihydrate⁴, which is the preferred article of commerce.

1. More than 80 years ago, authorities were concerned about opiate addiction. The authors noted, “The work reported in this paper is part of a unification of effort by a number of agencies having responsibility for the solution of the problem of drug addiction.�
2. CAS Reg. No. 115-37-7.
3. CAS Reg. No. 298-45-3.
4. CAS Reg. No. 41372-20-7.