CLINICAL MEDICINE

Detailed explanation-1: -The story of the discovery of aspirin stretches back more than 3500 years to when bark from the willow tree was used as a pain reliever and antipyretic. It involves an Oxfordshire clergyman, scientists at a German dye manufacturer, a Nobel Prize-winning discovery and a series of pivotal clinical trials.

Detailed explanation-2: -It comes from Spiraea, a biological genus of shrubs that includes natural sources of the drug’s key ingredient: salicylic acid. This acid, resembling what’s in modern-day aspirin, can be found in jasmine, beans, peas, clover and certain grasses and trees.

Detailed explanation-3: -The first recorded use of salicylates dates back about 4, 000 years to the Sumerians, who noted the pain remedies of the willow tree on early clay tablets. Ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia used the extract from willow trees to treat fever, pain, and inflammation.

Detailed explanation-4: -Aspirin is prepared by chemical synthesis from salicylic acid, through acetylation with acetic anhydride. The molecular weight of aspirin is 180.16g/mol. It is odourless, colourless to white crystals or crystalline powder.