White Willow Bark Also known as- Salix alba, Willow and Willow bark, osier, saille, and witch's aspirin.
Native to North America, northern Asia, and much of Africa, the
white willow is a low-growing deciduous tree bearing long, green,
tapering leaves and catkins in spring. Bark is tripped from young trees
in the spring for use in herbal medicines.
Willow bark is the
grandmother of aspirin and many other medications for arthritis and
rheumatism. Almost two thousand years ago, the Greek physician
Dioscorides used willow bark to sooth the pain of inflamed joints.
Native American healers used willow bark long before Columbus„or the
Vikings„landed.
The conversion of willow bark to aspirin began in
1828 when a German chemist isolated the active ingredient and named it
salicin. In 1899, the Bayer company began manufacturing and selling a
modified form of the willow bark chemical acetylsalicylic acid, or
aspirin. This first of the modern miracle medicines has been a mainstay
in the treatment of joint pain ever since. Willow bark is a proven
painkiller appropriate for colds, fevers, minor infections, headache,
arthritis, and pain caused by inflammation.
A tea
of white willow bark makes a good facial astringent.
The analgesic action of willow bark depends on symbiotic or
"friendly" intestinal bacteria to digest is components into painkilling
forms. Aspirin does not require digestion by intestinal bacteria, and
works more quickly. Willow bark, on the other hand, continues to
provide pain relief longer than aspirin.
Unlike aspirin, the
salicylates in willow bark do not increase the risk of bleeding. They
do not usually irritate the lining of the stomach. For these reasons,
willow bark may be useful for people who have chronic joint pain but
cannot take NSAIDs or COX-2 inhibitors.
Do not use willow bark if you are allergic to aspirin, and do not give willow bark to a child under sixteen years of age who has symptoms of any kind of viral infection, especially flu or chickenpox.