Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site osiris.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!genrad!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!umcp-cs!aplvax!osiris!jcp From: jcp@osiris.UUCP (Jody Patilla) Newsgroups: net.med Subject: Re: Asprirn Message-ID: <159@osiris.UUCP> Date: Sat, 2-Mar-85 11:30:33 EST Article-I.D.: osiris.159 Posted: Sat Mar 2 11:30:33 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 4-Mar-85 06:55:40 EST References: <887@cbdkc1.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: Johns Hopkins Hospital Lines: 30 > As an aside, willow bark works like aspirin, it is mild on the stomach > and it is natural. I use it occationally and it works very well (I > never use aspirin). Has your doctor ever recommended willow bark for > a headache? > Willow bark (*white* willow bark, that is) is high in salicin, one of the base compounds from which aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is derived. In fact, the name salicin comes from the family name of willows, Salix. A willow bark infusion has been used since the ancient Greeks for treatment of pain. Other plant sources of salicin and methylsalicylate include prickly ash bark, wintergreen, and spirea. Now, about Reye's syndrome. This is very often fatal if not recognised and treated immediately. Because of the very close relationship between aspirin and the above-mentioned botanicals, I would *not* give my kid any of them. The risk is simply too great. If you are really interested in the medicinal applications of plants, I highly recommend getting a copy of Mrs. Grieve's "A Modern Herbal" from Dover Books. It lists all the important chemical constituents of several hundred plants common to Europe and North America. -- jcpatilla "'Get stuffed !', the Harlequin replied ..."