Salicylic acid the product with sulfuric acid gives salicylic acid: It can also be prepared by the hydrolysis of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) or methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen) with a strong acid or base. Hippocrates, Galen, Pliny the Elder and others knew that willow bark could ease pain and reduce fevers. It was used in Europe and China to treat these conditions. This remedy is mentioned in texts from ancient Egypt, Sumer and Assyria. The Cherokee and other Native Americans used an infusion of the bark for fever and other medicinal purposes. In 2014, archaeologists identified traces of salicylic acid on 7th
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug inflammation and also used willow bark to mitigate them. On 25 April 1763, Edward Stone wrote to the Royal Society describing his observations on the use of willow bark-based medicines in febrile patients. The active ingredient of willow bark, a glycoside called salicin, was first isolated by Johann Andreas Buchner in 1827. By 1829, French chemist Henri Leroux had improved the extraction process to obtain about 30g of purified salicin from 1.5 kg of bark. By hydrolysis, salicin releases glucose and salicylic alcohol which can be converted into salicylic acid, both in vivo and through chemical methods. The acid is