By Grace Ademulegun
Willow bark has long been thought to be the source of the miracle drug aspirin, one of the most widely used medications worldwide.
One of the greatest pharmaceutical success stories of the past century is its innovative role in avoiding cardiovascular and cerebrovascular illness.
However, a McGill University study disproved the widely held belief that willow tree bark contains aspirin. According to the findings, willow bark does contain a similar molecule called salicin, which explains why the bark has been used as medicine since Hippocrates’ time.
Another long-standing traditional remedy is willow bark. Since its adoption as a pain reliever 4,000 years ago in ancient Sumer and Egypt, the bark has been a mainstay of medicine.
Salicin, a substance that resembles aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), is found in white willow bark. It is believed that salicin, in conjunction with the herb’s potent anti-inflammatory plant components (known as flavonoids), is what gives the herb its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. In actuality, an aspirin-related product was created using salicin in the 1800s.
According to history, the discovery that the bark of the cinchona tree had the ability to relieve fevers gave a boost to research into natural treatments.
We now know that cinchona is a source of quinine, the first malaria medicine, but this was not clear at the time. In light of this, the Reverend Edward Stone (1702–1768), a clergyman from Oxfordshire and fellow of the University of Oxford’s Wadham College, studied the application of willow bark in 1763.
His findings are still preserved in his letter to the Royal Society’s president. “There is a bark of an English tree that, which I have found by experience to be a powerful astringent, and very efficacious in curing aguish and intermitting disorders,” he said, describing the use of willow bark as a remedy for anguish (fever and shivering).
Related Posts
After three months of drying on the outside of a baker’s oven, Reverend Stone ground and sieved the willow bark into a powder. “It has, I believe, been administered to fifty people and has never failed in curing them, with the exception of a few autumnal and quartan agues, with which the patients have been severely and protractedly afflicted,” he said (Stone, 1763).
This letter probably served as the catalyst for many doctors of the day to treat fevers with willow bark. It was not until 1828 that Johann Buchner (1783–1852) polished willow bark into yellow crystals and termed it Salicin (after the willow tree’s genus, Salix) that the active element in willow bark was discovered.
Willow bark has long been used to treat pain since it has characteristics with aspirin. It isn’t regulated, although it is accessible as a supplement in a variety of forms.
For generations, people have used willow bark, which comes from a variety of willow plants, to treat pain and inflammation. Willow bark doesn’t seem to have any harmful side effects when eaten in moderation. However, an excess of willow bark might result in bleeding and cramps in the stomach.
Haemolytic anaemia, liver failure, and respiratory difficulties are some of the less common adverse effects. Because certain species may absorb heavy metals from their surroundings, it could also result in heavy metal poisoning. You may occasionally get a potentially fatal allergic reaction to willow bark.
There have been several documented instances of anaphylaxis. Someone tends to be more vulnerable if you have a confirmed aspirin allergy.
Clinical investigations have shown that it is effective in treating lower back pain, less effective in treating arthritic diseases, and effective in treating dysmenorrhea.
Willow comes in a number of dose forms, such as liquids, tablets, capsules, and powders. In clinical trials assessing willow bark’s analgesic properties (e.g., for lower back pain, dysmenorrhea), extracts containing 120–240 mg of salicin per day were utilised.
Willow-containing products should be avoided in patients with known aspirin hypersensitivity, asthma, impaired thrombocyte function, vitamin K antagonist therapy, diabetes, gout, kidney or liver disease, peptic ulcer disease, or any other medical condition for which aspirin is contraindicated.
Pregnant or lactating women should avoid using this product since there is insufficient information on its safety and efficacy during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
