His doctoral research was on the chemistry of the insecticidal toxin found in the roots of Derris elliptica which he isolated and characterized.

[5] In 1933 Butenandt signed the Vow of allegiance of the Professors of the German Universities and High-Schools to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialistic State.

As the head of a leading institute, he applied for government funding on concentrated research labeled kriegswichtig (important for the war), some of which focused on military projects like the improvement of oxygen uptake for high-altitude bomber pilots.

[7] Adolf Windaus and Walter Schöller of Schering gave him the advice to work on hormones extracted from ovaries.

This research lead to the discovery of estrone and other primary female sex hormones, which were extracted from several thousand liters of urine.

[13] Butenandt received 14 honorary doctorates,[28] including Tübingen (1949), Munich (1950), Graz (1957), Leeds (1961), Thessaloniki (1961), Madrid (1963), Vienna (1965), St. Louis (1965), Berlin (1966), Cambridge (1966) and Gdansk (1994).