History of aspirin History of aspirin The history of aspirin (IUPAC name acetylsalicylic acid ) begins with its synthesis and manufacture in 1899. Before that, salicylic acid had been used medicinally since antiquity. Medicines made from willow and other salicylate-rich plants appear in clay tablets from ancient Sumer as well as the Ebers Papyrus from ancient Egypt. Hippocrates referred to their use of salicylic tea to reduce fevers around 400 BC, and were part of the pharmacopoeia of Western medicine in classical antiquity and the Middle Ages. Willow bark extract became recognized for its specific effects on fever, pain and inflammation in the
Medicine in the medieval Islamic world include "A Dissertation on the causes of the Coryza which occurs in the spring when roses give forth their scent", a tract in which al-Razi discussed why it is that one contracts coryza or common cold by smelling roses during the spring season, and "Bur’al Sa’a" ("Instant cure") in which he named medicines which instantly cured certain diseases. "Ibn Sina", more commonly known in west as Avicenna was a Persian polymath and physician of the tenth and eleventh centuries. He was known for his scientific works, but especially his writing on medicine. He has been described as the "Father of