What Do You Know about White Willow and Aspirin?

Editor's Note: Do NOT try these home remedies without consulting a health professional to make sure they are appropriate for you.

In 1827, a french chemist named Leroux extracted a substance from the bark of a white willow tree which he named "Salicin." This substance is the main active ingredient of white willow, and it works as a pain reliever.

Many years later two other scientists -- Felix Hofman and Fredrick Bayer -- found a related compound to salicin, and later developed a synthetic version of that compound. This led to the development of a commercial product known as aspirin, or Bayers Aspirin.

In other words, aspirin, one of the most commonly used pain killers in the world, is a synthetic derivative of white willow. Now, commercial aspirin has a few known side effects which include upset stomachs, ulcers, dizziness, blood clotting interferance, shortness of breath, anemia, and Reyes Syndrome.

White willow, however, or rather its active ingredient, doesn't have these side effects. Salicin is naturally converted by the body to salicylic acid, which is mild to the stomach for instance, and it performs the same functions in the body as aspirin does -- without all the side effects.

Natural white willow also contains other organic components which aren't found in aspirin, and these appear to help the body use salicin with no known harmful side effects.

The three primary uses of white willow bark are for pain relief, to reduce fevers, and as an anti-inflammatory herb particularly useful for arthritis and rheumatism.

The anti-inflammatory properties of white willow bark can be used for external application purposes as well. Mixing the powdered form with pure aloe vera juice can quickly shrink problematic, painful hemorrhoids. You can also mix white willow bark into a poultice for treating swollen and inflamed tendons or ligaments.

General pain uses of white willow bark include anything you'd use regular aspirin or other synthetic pain relievers for. Sore muscles for instance, headaches, earaches, flus, and colds.

When buying white willow bark, try to find natural or organic versions if at all possible. It should come in a powdered form inside a gel capsule, not a hard packed pill form because those tend to have various other things mixed in that may or may not help much.

Gel capsules also tend to dissolve within minutes, where as the hard pill forms tend to have a difficult time being broken down in your body, so you may not experience the full benefits of the herb if taken that way.

You'll also need to compare the strength of the white willow you're buying against your standard pain and fever reducing synthetic medicines. Many people mistakenly think the white willow isn't working because they don't realize they've taken a much smaller dosage of it compared to what they'd usually take in the form of aspirin, Tylenol, or Motrin.