Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug more effective than salicin and, in addition to its fever-reducing properties, is anti-inflammatory and analgesic. In 1869, Hermann Kolbe synthesised salicylate, although it was too acidic for the gastric mucosa. The reaction used to synthesise aromatic acid from a phenol in the presence of CO2 is known as the Kolbe-Schmitt reaction. By 1897 the German chemist Felix Hoffmann and the Bayer company prompted a new age of pharmacology by converting salicylic acid into acetylsalicylic acid—named aspirin by Heinrich Dreser. Other NSAIDs were developed from the 1950s forward. In 2001, NSAIDs accounted for 70,000,000 prescriptions and 30 billion over-the-counter doses sold
Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid γ-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), also known as 4-hydroxybutanoic acid, is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter and a psychoactive drug. It is a precursor to GABA, glutamate, and glycine in certain brain areas. It acts on the GHB receptor and is a weak agonist at the GABA receptor. GHB has been used in a medical setting as a general anesthetic and as a treatment for cataplexy, narcolepsy, and alcoholism. It is also used illegally as an intoxicant, as a an athletic performance enhancer, as a date rape drug, and as a recreational drug. It is commonly used in the form of