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
Acid dissociation constant much weaker base than water. Compare this reaction with what happens when acetic acid is dissolved in the more acidic solvent pure sulfuric acid The unlikely geminal diol species is stable in these environments. For aqueous solutions the pH scale is the most convenient acidity function. Other acidity functions have been proposed for non-aqueous media, the most notable being the Hammett acidity function, "H", for superacid media and its modified version "H" for superbasic media. In aprotic solvents, oligomers, such as the well-known acetic acid dimer, may be formed by hydrogen bonding. An acid may also form hydrogen bonds to