From plant extract to molecular panacea: a commentary on Stone (1763) 'An account of the success of the bark of the willow in the cure of the agues'.
The application of aspirin-like drugs in modern medicine is very broad, encompassing the treatment of inflammation, pain and a variety of cardiovascular conditions. Although anecdotal accounts of willow bark extract as an anti-inflammatory drug have occurred since written records began (for example by Hippocrates), the first convincing demonstration of a potent anti-pyretic effect of willow bark containing salicylates was made by the English cleric Edward Stone in the late eighteenth century. Here, we discuss the route to optimizing and understanding the mechanism of action of anti-inflammatory drugs that have their origins in Stone's seminal study, 'An account of the success of the bark of the willow in the cure of agues'. This commentary was written to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, Gower St., London WC1E 6BT, UK Department of Molecular Medicine and Biopharmaceutical Sciences, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea j.wood@ucl.ac.uk.
John N
JN
Wood
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000266:history* / Q000494:pharmacology; D049671:History, 18th Century; D010600:Pharmacology / Q000266:history*; D024301:Plant Bark / Q000737:chemistry*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000266:history* / Q000494:pharmacology; D032108:Salix / Q000737:chemistry*
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts
aspirin; cardiovascular function; fever; inflammation; malaria; pain