Herbal and natural medicine is becoming increasingly popular in 21st century culture. It may be surprising to some that many of these herbal treatments and medicines have been around for centuries and are the basis for both commercially prepared medications, as well as the chemical manufacture of new pharmaceutical compounds (Phaneuf, 2005). One of these compounds, which has influenced chemistry and medicine for centuries is willow bark, which contains the chemical salicin (Boon, 2009). Its origins and discovery, as well as the historical culture, have influenced its incorporation as the common pharmaceutical preparation known as aspirin.
Historical writings of Hippocrates (460 BC-377 BC) refer to the use of a white powder made from the bark and leaves of willow trees for pain relief and fevers (Bellis). Native American lore also reports the chewing of willow bark and preparation of willow water for ailments such as toothache and headache (Phaneuf, 2005). In the 1700’s Edmund Stone, While trying to find a substitute for cinchona bark used for treating malaria, began experimenting with white willow bark and found it to be highly effective in treating pain and fevers (White Willow Bark). In 1826, a highly impure version of salicin was reported by Brugnatelli and Fontana (Bellis). Johann Buchner, in 1828, in the search for the active ingredient in willow bark, isolated yellow, needle-like crystals which he named salicin (Bellis). Soon after, Henri Leroux improved the extraction procedure, and in 1838, Raffaele Pira was able to split salicin into a sugar and an aromatic compound (Bellis). He converted this aromatic compound by hydrolysis and oxidation to the compound known now as salicylic acid (Bellis). In 1899, the German scienti...
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...LBA BARK EXTRACT EINECS ELINCS No 282-029-0 CAS 084082-82-6 Salicin 138-52-3.MDidea-Extracts Professional.S038. Retrieved April 17, 2014, from http://mdidea.com/products/herbextract/salicin/data02.html
Image References http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Salix_alba_leaves.jpg/220px-Salix_alba_leaves.jpg http://www.pollenlibrary.com/library_images/species_maps/Salix-alba.png http://www.ideafinder.com/images/inventors/hoffmann.jpg http://www.ideafinder.com/images/inventions/aspirin.gif http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Salicin-perspective-2D-skeletal.png/800px-Salicin-perspective-2D-skeletal.png http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Salicylic-acid-skeletal.svg/256px-Salicylic-acid-skeletal.svg.png
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Aspirin-skeletal.svg/336px-Aspirin-skeletal.svg.png
Medicine has been developed and discovered for thousands of years; however, the 1920’s was the first decade that fashioned a pathway for new developments and discoveries. Medical professionals have taken a huge hit for their fight in finding new inventions that can save patients from death’s hands. In the 1920’s, medicine has also taken a tremendous leap in controlling fatal diseases such as diabetes (Pendergast 110). Medicine in the 1920’s has altered the way medicine is shaped today; furthermore, the development and discovery of the iron lung, penicillin, and insulin were the first pertinent breakthroughs in medical history (“Iron” par. 7; Grimsley par. 15; “Banting” par. 13).
Al-Nafis, besides drawing on pharmacy and drugs used from around the world, introduced the idea of mathematical calculation of proper drug dosages, and Al-Razi building off that idea in al Hawi fit-Tibb included a section on pharmacy which pioneered chemotherapy with a variety of mineral drugs (Rahman). Prior to this, tumors were treated primarily with cauterization. Al-Zahrawi introduced many modern pharmacological treatments such as nasal sprays, mouth washes and hand creams. As already noted, sulfur was found an effective topical treatment for scabies, and opium (in modernity purified to morphine) an effective anaesthetic. Many other drugs discovered to have therapeutic use during the Golden Age of the Islamic Empire endure today—including the use of copper sulphate to heal open skin lesions (Stewart 127) and various unguents, plasters, counter-irritants, and pomades
1785 The first physician set up shop in Nashville, Dr. John Sappington, maker and vendor of "Sappington's Pills." Considered a "panacea for all the ills that flesh is heir to; but, the secret being discovered, the pills lost all reputation and Dr. Sappington his practice." History of Nashville. Pg. 89.
Aspirin contains the substance acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), which can relieve inflammation, fever, pain, and known as a “blood thinner”. Aspirin was not officially trademarked until March 6, 1899 when the Imperial Office of Berlin made it official. It has been used for the last 110 years, but its natural form, salicylic acid has been around for thousands by Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. Aspirin is available in over 80 countries and known as the best non-prescription drug. The most common use of aspirin is to cure headaches and use it as a pain reliever, but aspirin is known to prevent heart attack and strokes. It was first proposed in 1940, but wasn’t confirmed until 1970 when doctors would recommend taking aspirin daily [1].
The multiple use of plants used for nourishment, medicinal purposes and practical use were ignored by Lewis and Clark during their monumental trek across the United States. Rather than consider the Native Indian’s use of native plants they persisted on using Dr. Rush’s Thunderbolt pills that probably caused more problems than the condition that inflicted them. Many modern day cultures continue to ignore native remedies and have come to depend on synthetic pharmaceutical drug production. In recent years the wealth of indigenous knowledge has been acknowledged revealing the use of native plants and the importance it had in the survival of indigenous people.. Pharmaceutical companies have utilized the immense knowledge of the indigenous people and their use of natural plants. The application of natural plant species have revealed the main reasons mankind has survived into present day. Following is a few of the plants, their application and their specific purposes.
Each year, people spend billions of dollars on pharmaceutical drugs, but what if there was an option that was cheaper and natural? Herbal medicine has been around for thousands of years and shows no sign of stopping. Many are familiar with Aloe Vera, a plant commonly used to treat burns, but it can also be used to speed the healing process of cuts. Herbal remedies have been around for a long time and have saved lives, like little Teddy’s life in No Witchcraft for Sale.
An ancient Chinese proverb proclaims, "Nature, time and patience are the three great doctors". Nowadays more and more people choose to be treated by methods that are not based on Western systematic techniques that are the knowledge and practice of medicine which is usual in the West. These methods are known as “Alternative medicine”, which consists of homeopathy, acupuncture, aromatherapy, chiropractic medicine and others. Chinese medicine is also gaining popularity among people. The alternative way of treatment has verified its efficiency and is methodically founded, but, unfortunately, has its little disadvantages and needs a scientific base. For that reason, the alternative medicine is not generally available in all countries, and people have to pay for their individual treatment. Whereas some people consider it an ambiguity and do not dare try it because they consider it might be quite dangerous or insecure, some others just think about it as nonsense and pay little or no attention to it. People who feel anxious or doubtful of it claim that if non-traditional medicine had really worked, then appropriate doctors would have used it. Nevertheless, since the early 1980s, the alternative medicine has become increasingly popular, and although it is not officially accepted by the medical base, some doctors do accept that such methods can be effective in treating some types of illnesses. Moreover, usual medicine has its boundaries, since some illnesses are untreatable and some others which are caused by mental troubles cannot be cured by its methods (Kowalski, 1998).
Homeopathy medicine is a self-healing alternative medicine developed in 1790 by German physician and chemist Samuel Hahnemann. Homeopathy medicine aims to treat the whole body and not just the symptoms. Homeopathy medicine was very popular throughout the united states during the early 1900 but began to die out after the civil war. Homeopathy medicine is approximately 200 years old, though it is believed to have originated in 400 B.C through Hippocrates. However, Samuel Hahnemann gave this medical practice a name in the late 1700s and developed three principles for Homeopathy medicine that still stands today. Homeopathy medicine was developed in the late 1700s, which saw a period of unhygienic and brutal medical techniques. Samuel a physician
Ross defines and differentiates between the terms healing and curing. She recognizes the fact that healing and curing are very intertwined and it can be hard to distinguish between the two terms. There are differences between the definitions in scholarly and general settings. She references an ethnographic study of healing versus curing conducted by anthropologists Andrew Strathern and Pamela Stewart in 1999 with native groups in New Guinea. The results of the study looked at how energy used by the different types of tribal healers to either cure or heal a patient. Eastern medicine focuses on how energy interacts with the healing process in connection within the mind. Whereas Western medicine is focused on the mind and the body separately. The practice is considered a holistic approach to finding cures. According to Ross (2013), healing is more a therapeutic process targeting the whole body and specific illness including emotional, mental, and social aspects in the treatment. The act of curing is a pragmatic approach that focuses on removing the problem all together. The life experiences of a person playing into how well certain treatments will heal or cure what is ailing them. These aspects can not be defined with textbook definitions. The interaction that the healing process has with energy is a variable in the success rate. Uncontrolled emotions can have a greater impact on the inside the body than a person can realize. The exploration of energy interaction within the body can be used for greater analysis of health care systems. (21-22). Are Western healthcare facilities purposely “curing” patients just so that they return are few years later? Is Western Medicine built upon a negative feedback loop? The terminolo...
Discovery and Development of Penicillin. (2014, April 4). Retrieved from American Chemical Society International Historic Chemical Landmarks: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/flemingpenicillin.html
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western Medicine (WM) differ from each other in many ways. TCM favors a holistic approach, views the universe and body philosophically and develops inductive tools and methods to guide restoring the total balance of the body. In Chinese medicine, the correct balance between Yin and Yang make up the vital energy, Qi, an essential life-sustaining substance of which all things are made. Some Traditional remedies include herbal medicines, acupuncture, massage and moxibustion, an herbal heat therapy. Western medicine is closely linked to the scientific method and emphasizes biochemical processes causes disease, its treatment and health. This form of treatment views all medical phenomena as cause-effect sequences and relies on drugs, radiation and surgery to alleviate symptoms and cure diseases. As you see, the two types of medicine are completely challenged differently depending on the doctor, the diagnosis, and the treatment options. All of these are completely different when compared with each other.
Background Information Aspirin is an analgesic (pain relieving) and an antipyretic drug (a drug that lowers body temperature). The main constituent of aspirin is 2 - ethanoythydroxybenzoic acid, also known as acetylsalicyclic acid (shown below right). It was originally made from just salicylic acid (which is found in the bark of a willow tree) when used by the Ancient Greeks to counter fever and pain, but its bitterness and tendency to irritate the stomach caused problems. These were resolved by the German chemist Felix Hoffman, who made the acetyl derivative of salicylic acid in the
Hippocrates' authority lasted throughout the Middle Ages and reminded alchemists and medical experimenters of the potential of inorganic drugs. In fact, a distant descendant of Hippocrates' prescriptions was the use of antimony salts in elixirs (alcoholic solutions) advocated by Basilius Valentius in the middle of the 15th century and by the medical alchemist Phillippus Aureolus Paracelsus (born Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim, in Switzerland, 1493-1541).
When you are sick you take medicine, but there are many remedies for the same problems. The use of herbal remedies traces back to the Chinese in the use of Traditional Chinese Medicine, as well by a compiled book in China written back more than 2,000 years ago (Wachtel-Galor & Benzie, 2011). Modern medicine has roots that are more recent in the development and production of synthesize drugs (Wachtel-Galor & Benzie, 2011). The old generations took herbal remedies to improve their health, but now as time and people, progressed modern medicine comes on top. Herbal and modern medicines have good and bad points, but one has qualities that are more effective.
Herbal products are medicinal agents obtained from the plants. It’s all started 100 years ago by ancient people. Since synthetic medicine are not yet invented by that time, ancient people had invented medicine out of the plants. Through generations the original herbal medicine had been modified due to the new knowledge discovered and technologies invented.