Break from the Grind March 6, 2012
TRIVIAL PURSUITS: The Origin of the Active Ingredient in Aspirin
On what did patients use to chew to get the active ingredient in Aspirin, acetylsalicylic acid?
Reported by PS
The active ingredient in Aspirin comes from the bark of a White Willow tree, and patients with pain or a fever would chew on this bark for relief. Yet due to the harshness of the natural chemical of this bark, Bayer decided to synthesize it to make it more tolerable for the user.
After launching the medication, aspirin was priced at about 50 cents an ounce, as at the time it was only available in powder form. Soon before 1920, Bayer developed the tablet form of the drug and it was then available by prescription.
Over 15 billion tablets of aspirin are sold annually, which amounts to about 80 million aspirin tablets consumed daily.