Which medication, derived from willow bark, was the first widely marketed as a tablet?

Which medication, derived from willow bark, was the first widely marketed as a tablet?

• A. Aspirin
• B. Acetaminophen
• C. Ibuprofen
• D. Naproxen

Answer: (A)

Aspirin is the one linked to willow bark. Willow bark contains salicin, which the body converts to salicylic acid to relieve pain. Salicylic acid works well but can irritate the stomach, so chemists formed acetylsalicylic acid, which keeps the pain-relieving effects while being gentler on the stomach and easier to formulate as a stable tablet. Bayer then marketed acetylsalicylic acid under the name Aspirin, making it the first drug broadly sold in tablet form for pain relief, fever, and inflammation. The other drugs listed—acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and naproxen—are later developments and not the willow-bark-derived tablet that pioneered mass-market tablets.

Aspirin is the one linked to willow bark. Willow bark contains salicin, which the body converts to salicylic acid to relieve pain. Salicylic acid works well but can irritate the stomach, so chemists formed acetylsalicylic acid, which keeps the pain-relieving effects while being gentler on the stomach and easier to formulate as a stable tablet. Bayer then marketed acetylsalicylic acid under the name Aspirin, making it the first drug broadly sold in tablet form for pain relief, fever, and inflammation. The other drugs listed—acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and naproxen—are later developments and not the willow-bark-derived tablet that pioneered mass-market tablets.