In the fifth century B.C., Hippocrates used powder from the bark of a willow tree to treat aches and pains. The credit given for the discovery and its beneficial uses was given to Edmund Stone in the 18th century. The salicylic acid found in it was causing some upset stomachs. In 1853, a French chemist, Charles Frederic Gerhardt tried to improve on the sodium salicylate mixture by combining it with acetyl chloride. He succeeded in producing a compound that was less irritating to the stomach. Then he felt that making it would be too tedious and abandoned his work. Felix Hoffman, an industrial chemist, synthesized the substance, salicylic acid, and in 1893 he developed a commercial process for its production. In 1897, his superiors at Bayer named this product ASPIRIN. The “A” comes from acetyl chloride. The “SPIR” which comes from Spiraea ulmaria, the plant they used to obtain the salicylic acid from. The “IN” was a common ending for medicines at that time. It was then marketed in 1899. In 1900 Bayer had introduced aspirin in the form of water-soluble tablets, the first medication to be sold in this form.
How Aspirin Works:
No one knew how aspirin worked until the 1970s. John Vane, a British pharmacologist, discovered that aspirin works by reducing the body’s production of prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are fatty-acids derivatives that are chemical mediators in the body that promote swelling, which causes pain.
Uses Present and Future:
Taking aspirin can relieve a person from many of the effects of prostaglandins. It is used for temporary headache relief, muscular aches and pains, arthritis and menstrual pain. It is also used for the relief of fever and inflammation. Aspirin is also known to reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks. Aspirin is going to be around for a while as they find out more of what it can do. Especially how it can help our cardiovascular system.
Alternatives for Aspirin:
Acetaminophen is a drug used as an alternative to aspirin. It relieves pain by raising the body's pain threshold. It also reduces fever by its action on the temperature-regulating center of the brain, though the drug's particular modes of action remain unclear. This drug much less likely to cause gastrointestinal side effects than aspirin, but overdoses can cause fatal liver damage.
Ibuprofen is often used to treat arthritis pain. It works against minor pains, fever, and swelling. It operates by inhibiting synthesis of body chemicals called prostaglandins. It may cause irritation of gastrointestinal tract. It was marketed in 1980s under a variety of names, including Advil and Nuprin.
Chemical Formula
acetic anhydride + salicylic acid --> aspirin + acetic acid
C4H6O3 + C7H6O3 --> C9H8O4 + HC2H3O2
(acetylsalicylic acid) = aspirin