He is described as having made contributions to the pharmaceutical history of Mecklenburg[1] Working with coca leaves, Gaedcke isolated the cocaine molecule.
[3] Gaedcke named the alkaloid “erythroxyline,” and published a description in the journal Archiv der Pharmazie in 1855.
[4][5] He described the alkaloid as being of small crystal molecules with needle-like points on four to six sides.
[3] Gaedcke's research received little attention at the time of its publication but would come to prominence a few years later following further work by Albert Niemann and scientists.
[3] He is believed to have carried out his research in the private laboratory of Franz Leopold Sonnenschein.