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    Did the willow tree play an important role in the invention of the aspirin?

    Question #110008. Asked by serpa. (Oct 21 09 7:11 AM)


    chessart

    		Yes. From Wikipedia: "The Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates wrote about its (willow tree's) medicinal properties in the 5th century BC. Native Americans across the American continent relied on it as a staple of their medical treatments. This is because it contains salicylic acid, the precursor to aspirin."

    See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willow

    Oct 21 09, 9:05 AM
    serpa

    		Here's more. Willow trees produce an abundant, milky sap. Within the sap is a substance called salicylic acid. In 1763, a British minister named Edward Stone did experiments on willow sap and identified and isolated salicylic acid. The acid caused too much stomach upset to be widely used until 1897 when a chemist named Felix Hoffman created a synthetic version which was gentle on the stomach. His company, Bayer, produced his invention as the first aspirin.

    http://garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Weeping_Willow_Tree_Facts

    Oct 21 09, 10:16 AM

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