Aspirin 1899 – A Painkiller, Fever Reducer and Anti-Inflammatory

Historian Edward Shorter writes:

”Since 1899, aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) has been the most popular drug of all time. In the US alone, 10,000 to 20,000 tonnes of aspirin are used each year.”

Aspirin:

• Relieves pain
• Reduces fever
• Reduces blood clotting

It is therefore potentially useful in reducing the risk of stroke and heart attack. Aspirin was the first drug discovered in the class of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

For thousands of years, civilisations such as those of Africans, the Chinese and the ancient Sumerians used remedies derived from plants and trees. Ancient Egyptians made pain-relieving mixtures from willow leaves. Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates recommended extracting juice from willow bark and leaves for pain. Scientists later discovered that the active ingredient in these preparations was a chemical that the body converts into salicylic acid, “salicin”. 

These chemicals were very harsh on users' digestive systems. In 1897, this encouraged researchers at the German company Bayer to study a form of painkiller that was less damaging to the stomach, acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). Bayer's researchers included Felix Hoffmann, Heinrich Dreser and Arthur Eichengrün. Finally, in 1899, Bayer named acetylsalicylic acid “Aspirin” and began large-scale production and marketing. 

In 1971, British pharmacologist John Vane and his colleagues showed that aspirin works by inhibiting prostaglandins and thromboxanes in the body:

• Prostaglandins play a role in causing inflammation and regulating pain. 
• Thromboxanes are responsible for platelet aggregation during blood clot formation. 

Today, we know that aspirin inactivates the cyclooxygenase (cox) enzyme needed for prostaglandin and thromboxane synthesis. The discovery of aspirin, an excellent example of pharmacognosy (the study of medicinal plants  and other natural substances as possible sources of drugs), gave impetus to research into new anti-inflammatory painkillers.

Description of the article image: Advertisements for aspirin by Bayer, a German company that marketed it. “When buying Aspirin, ask for ‘BAYER’. Insist on it!”

Historical figures mentioned in the article: Hippocrates of Cos (460 B.C.–377 B.C.), Charles Frédéric Gerhardt (1816–1856), Heinrich Dreser (1860–1924), Arthur Eichengrün (1867–1949), Felix Hoffmann (1868–1946), Sir John Robert Vane (1927–2004)

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