A brief history of the discovery and applications of aspirin

Aspirin has been one of the most widely used drugs in the world since its discovery more than a century ago. The German chemist, Felix Hoffman, was credited with its discovery in 1897, when he synthesised acetylsalicylic acid, which Hoffman called aspirin. While it was known for centuries that salicylate- containing plants could be useful in the treatment of febrile conditions, such as ague or malaria, it has only been in the last fifty years that the arteriovascular effects of the salicylate derivative, aspirin, have been studied. Forty thousand tons were consumed annually in the first decade of the twenty-first century. An old antipyretic drug now has wider applications in the prevention of conditions such as myocardial infarction and strokes.