Page 83 - Encyclopedia of Chemical Compounds 3 Vols
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ACETYLSALICYLIC ACID
In the period from 1828 to 1829, the active ingredient in
Acetylsalicylic acid. Red atoms willow bark was first isolated by three individuals, the Ger-
are oxygen; white atoms are
man pharmacist Johann Bu ¨chner (dates not available), the
hydrogen; and black atoms are
carbon. Striped sticks indicate a French chemist Henri Leroux (dates not available), and the
benzene ring. PUBLISHERS
the Italian chemist, Raffaele Piria (1815–1865). Bu ¨ chner gave
RE S O U R C E G R O U P
the name salicin to the bitter-tasting yellow crystals
extracted from willow bark after the Latin name for the
willow tree, Salix. In 1853, the French chemist Charles Fre-
derick Gerhardt (1816–1857) developed a method for reacting
salicylic acid (the active ingredient in salicin) with acetic
acid to make the first primitive form of aspirin.
32 CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS
