Aspirin, as it is known today, is a substance called acetylsalicylic acid (ASA).
It is used worldwide as a ‘blood thinner’ and to relieve inflammation, pain and
fever.
Egyptians Early Adopters
ASPREE Aspirin in the Ancient World
- Aspirin was first produced 110 years ago, but the natural form, salicylic acid,
found in plants (i.e. the willow and myrtle) has been used for thousands of years.
- As early as 3000 BC, the ancient Egyptians used willow bark and myrtle to reduce
pain and fever
- By 30 AD, Greek and Roman physicians suggested the use of willow leaf to treat inflammation.
A Victorian Era Discovery
- The natural form of aspirin, salicylic acid, was associated with an awful taste
and often induced upset stomachs and vomiting. In 1853, scientist Charles Fredric Gerhardt was the first to prepare ASA by the addition of an acetyl chemical
to natural salicylic acid, however this form was said to be unstable.
- In 1897, Felix Hoffmann (a young chemist working for Bayer) independently made
ASA in a more chemically pure, stable and more palatable form. Hoffman’s father
had utilised sodium salicylate for rheumatic pain (to make it easier on the
stomach).
- Two years later, on March 6, 1899, aspirin was trademarked under the Imperial Office
of Berlin.
- When war broke out in 1914 the Allies lost their source of aspirin and so they offered
large prizes for anyone who could make aspirin. When the war ended the Allies forced
the Germans to give up their patent.
An Aspirin a day
The ability of aspirin to prevent heart attacks and stroke was first proposed in
the 1940s when doctors observed that children who were given aspirin-laced chewing
gum to relieve pain after a tonsillectomy bled more than those who did not have
the gum. It was reasoned that if aspirin caused bleeding it could prevent clotting,
the cause of heart attacks. Because these initial studies were published in obscure
journals the recommendation to take an aspirin a day to prevent heart attacks was
not adopted. It wasn’t until the 1970s when adequately controlled trials established that this
was true, that doctors routinely started recommending aspirin.
Aspirin today
- Aspirin is now available in over 80 countries
- It is regarded as the most successful non-prescription medicine of all time
- Aspirin was one of the very first drugs to be made available in tablet-form
- It is now a standard worldwide remedy for pain, inflammation and fever