• When used to treat pain, aspirin works by blocking prostglandins, the chemicals released at the sight of damage -- smashed finger, arthritic knee, sore neck -- and stimulate the OUCH! message the brain receives and we all feel.
• Because prostglandins also contribute to blood clotting, aspirin can be used as an anticoagulant (anything that discourages clotting). This dual indication means doctors prescribe it as a preventative measure for those at risk for heart attacks or who have already suffered one. According to Bayer, aspirin saves up to 80,000 lives per year and reduces the risk of death as much as 23 percent.
• For overstressed plants, half an aspirin mixed in water offers an immune boost by encouraging more salicylic-acid production than the plant could make on its own.
• Additional research is in the works, but aspirin has been tied with reduced incidence of Alzheimer's as well as helping ward off pre- and cancerous polyps associated with colon cancer.
Aspirin through the ages
5th century B.C.
Hippocrates uses willow bark to treat fevers and pain. Its main ingredient, salicin, is the chemical root of aspirin.
Labs in Germany, Italy and France all experiment with willow bark, eventually extracting the chemical compounds for pain relief. Despite effectiveness, many had to discontinue taking early aspirin because of the intense stomach problems.
Desperate to help his father's rheumatoid arthritis, Bayer chemist Felix Hoffmann adds an acetyl cover to the compound, turning it into the formula used today. Although it is still unclear how the formula works at this point, Bayer patents the product as aspirin, which is sold initially as a powder.
As part of its 110th anniversary, aspirin is hailed as the eighth wonder of the world. And honestly, why not? Nearly one out of every five adults in the U.S. takes it regularly -- just some of the 100 billion little white pills the world pops every year.