Aspirin is one of the most widely used medications in the world, but its history goes back thousands of years. The main ingredient in aspirin, salicylic acid, was first discovered in plants like willow bark and meadowsweet. Ancient civilizations, including the Egyptians and Greeks, used extracts from these plants to treat pain and fever. For example, Hippocrates, a famous Greek physician, recommended chewing willow bark to reduce pain and swelling.

It was not until the 19th century that scientists began to understand how salicylic acid worked. In 1828, a German chemist named Johann Buchner isolated salicin, a chemical compound found in willow bark. Later, in 1838, an Italian scientist named Raffaele Piria converted salicin into salicylic acid, making it easier to study. However, salicylic acid caused stomach irritation when used as medicine.

The breakthrough came in 1897 when Felix Hoffmann, a chemist working for a German company called Bayer, modified salicylic acid into acetylsalicylic acid. This new version was less irritating to the stomach and became the basis for modern aspirin. Bayer patented the drug and began selling it under the name “Aspirin” in 1899. The name “Aspirin” comes from “A” for acetyl, “spir” from the meadowsweet plant's scientific name, Spiraea ulmaria, and “in,” a common ending for medications at the time.

Today, aspirin is used to relieve pain, reduce fever, and even prevent heart attacks and strokes. Its long history demonstrates how people have continually sought ways to improve medicine and ease human suffering.

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