NAME: ASPIRIN

ALTERNATIVE NAME(S):

DETAILS/DESCRIPTION: Aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid, is a nonsteroidal,
nonnarcotic, analgesic that is used for the relief of headache, muscle
and joint aches and fever reduction. The drug works by inhibiting the
production of prostaglandins, body chemicals that are necessary for
blood clotting and which also sensitize nerve endings to pain.
Hippocrates, the Greek father of modern medicine, who lived in the
fifth century BCE, left historical records of pain relief treatments,
including the use of powder made from the bark and leaves of the willow
tree to heal headaches, pains and fevers. By 1829, scientists
discovered that the active ingredient in willow plants was the compound
they called salicin. The problem was that the compound was hard on
stomachs and a means of “buffering” the compound was sought. The first
person to succeed was Charles Gerhardt. In 1853, he neutralized
salicylic acid by buffering it with sodium salicylate and acetyl
chloride, creating acetylsalicylic acid.   In 1899, a German chemist

named <first manufactured by> Felix Hoffmann*, who worked for a the Bayer company,

rediscovered Gerhardt's formula and successfully treated his father's arthritis pain with it.

Hoffmann then convinced Bayer to market the drug, named Aspirin, and it was patented on March
6, 1889 . Aspirin was first sold as a powder, and in 1915 the first
Aspirin tablets were made.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: “History of Aspirin” http://inventors.about.com