Essay Sample on Definition, History and Use of aspirin

Introduction

Aspirin is a non-steroidalanti-inflammatory (NSAID)drug that ranks among the most used medicines across the globe.Aspirin was the first NSAID discovered, and its generic name is acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). Its common uses include by people with minor pains and aches such as muscle pains, headaches, toothaches and common cold among others or to reduce fever.

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Additionally, patients suffering from stroke, heart attacks or blood clots are often given aspirins in low doses to contain the ailments. Also, itinteracts with other drugs such as methotrexate and warfarin, thus, making it favourable to administer to patients using these medications. Aspirin is a salicylate that works by blocking particular natural substances in the human body to reduce swelling and pain. Often, the doctor or physician directs the patients on how to use these drugs based on their conditions. They may be used either for a short or long term depending on the level of sickness, for example, aspirin usedin cases of minor pains may be administered for a short duration while a patient coming from the surgery may be directed to use them for a long time to prevent risks of blood clots.

Floyd and Ferro (2014) assert that there cases in which aspirin fails during medication. The authors define this case as "Aspirin resistance" that may be as a result of poor prescription of the drug or the level of the platelet in the patient's body. For instance, the underlying inflammatory process may result in increased platelet turnover andhigh rate of platelets regeneration which in turn decreases the efficiency of daily dosing of aspirin. Additionally, poor adherence to medication among the patients ranks among the major contributors of the resistance. For instance, if the patient fails to take medicine as directed by the doctor or the pharmacist, its effectiveness may decrease thus lowering the outcome. Patients taking aspirin are required to report their progress to their respective doctors to ensure that the drug's effects are as desired.

The History of Aspirin

The Ancient Egyptians and Sumerians initially used the drug for medicinal purposes.Salicylic acid, which is a critical ingredient in the making of this drug, is mainly found in particular genus of plants such as peas, beans and clover as well as certain types of trees and grass. The Willow tree is the most significant and often regarded as the most important in the discovery and development of aspirin. The high civilisations would boil the plants and drink the water to relieve pain and aches. Additionally, in 400 BC the Hippocrates in Greece administered the willow tea to women during childbirth as a means of easing pain and documented the effects. Therefore, the drug ranks among the oldest medication used to treat various illnesses.

In the 19th century, scientists began a journey that significantly shaped modern medicine particularly the development and use of aspirin for diverse purposes. In 1829, a French scientist, Henri Leroux, isolated salicylic acid as the primary cause of the willow drink's analgesic effect. However, in 1828 a German professor of Pharmacy at the Munich University had successfully extracted yellow crystals of active ingredients from the willow and named them salicin. This achievement attracted the attention of other scientists across the globe who engaged in extensive scientific researches to prove and enhance the information. As a result, in 1874, a German pharmacist knew as Hermann Kolbe successfully managed to synthesise the acid derived from boiling the willow bark. He immediately began to administer it to his patients and observed the implications, thus, using them for experiments and continuously working on advancing its effectiveness (Connelly 2014).

Empowered with the information about the key ingredient, various scientists continued to look for its presence in other plants. For instance, in 1830, Swiss and German pharmacists Johann Pagenstecher and Karl Jacob Lowig identified salicin in the meadowsweet flower. The use of the drug on patients enabled the pharmacists to observe its various side effects such as vomiting and nausea. Bayer pharmaceutical company with the help of a German pharmacist, Felix Hoffmann, identified that adding an acetyl group to the salicylic acidto form the acetylsalicylic acid reduced these side effects. The company immediately patented the process thus making it the first company to develop aspirin. Over the decades, health organisations and companies have been on the verge of acquiring the drug and identified the other various ways through which it can be helpful. For example, in 2005 researchers from the Harvard Medical School conducted the Women's Health Study that found out that aspirin could lower the risks of stroke. The drug's popularity significantly spread across the world making it enter the World Guinness of Records as the most used pain reliever in 1950.

Additionally, a pharmacology professor at the University of London published a researched that outlaid aspirin's action mechanism. He later won a Nobel prize, thus indicating the increased growth and significance of the medicine. Aspirin continuous to rank among the most used drugs in the world while scientist increasing provide information on the various diverse ways in which it can be used to assist patients suffering from different health conditions (Connelly 2014).

The Uses of Aspirin

The discovery of aspirin marked the beginning of the development of family medicines. Though at the beginning the drugs action mechanism was unclear, a pharmacist from all over the world has rapidly researched on the topic thus resulting in the creation of various uses. For example, Aspirin is primarily used for either minor or severe conditions to reduce pain, fever, inflammation or to prevent blood clots.Due to the medicine's interactivity with other drugs, doctors prescribe them to patients alongside other medications.

Other than the primary uses of aspirin, pharmacists have discovered their beneficial use in the secondary treatment of cardiovascular disease.The drugs reduce the risk of stroke and myocardial infarction among patients portraying signs of cardiovascular disease. However, its effectiveness requires administration of low doses of daily 75mg to 150mg. Doctors attribute these beneficial effects of aspirin to its capability to irreversibly inhibit platelet thromboxane synthesis thus preventing the formation of pathological blood clots in the brain and heart vasculature.

Additionally, recent researches indicate that the use of aspirin may help in preventing colorectal cancer and Alzheimer's disease.The effectiveness of aspirin as an anticancer drug depends on various factors such as follow-up period, adherence to medication and duration of treatment. According to Langley (2013), aspirin restrains enzyme Cox who is believed to promote the development and spread of malignancy actively. However, the scholar explains that the drug has a short life thus limiting its effectiveness in completely preventing the acquisition and development of cancer. Most doctors and pharmacists, thus, encourage the cancer patients to take the medications in large dosages of about 2000mg daily within particular time intervals. Therefore, aspirin associates with increasing the survival rate of cancer patients and reducing deaths. With time as scientists gather more information on the mechanism of action of aspirin, more uses are being identified thus increasing its popularity and usage across the world.

The Structure of Aspirin

Aspirin's chemical classification is as a Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Compound. Its mechanism of action is through inhibition of the cyclooxygenase which in turn restrains the biosynthesis of prostaglandins (Bojic et al. (2015)). Although the drug has been in the market for an extended period, it is not until the 20th century that scientists understood its chemical classification and the manner in which it worked to achieved the results. The Acetylsalicylic acid acetylates and binds to serine residues in the cyclooxygenases. As a result, the process causes reduced platelet aggregation, synthesis of prostaglandin and inflammation thus demonstrating the drug's antipyretic, analgesic and anticoagulant properties.Aspirin's molecular formula is C9H8O4 or HC9H7O4 or CH3COOC6H4COOH, represented in Figure 1 below. Its molecular weight is 180.159 g/mol. Over the years different pharmacists from across the world dedicated their work on conducting researches that explained how the main ingredient of the primary plants used by the ancient civilisations such as Egypt for medicinal values, for example, the willow bank residues, worked. After identifying the Salicylic acid in the plants and observing its impact on the patients, the pharmacists began evaluating the aspirin's mechanism of action thus outlaying the various chemical processes involved. The drug crystalises in the monoclinic space group P21/c which is made up of four molecules (Bojic et al. 2015). The unit cell has two molecules linked together by a pair of hydrogen bonds thus indicating that its crystal structure consists of centrosymmetric dimers.

The crystal structure of aspirin indicates that it has a lone pair of donor oxygen that interacts with a porbital of its ester carbonyl group (Mukherjee, Ray and Barghi 2016). It, therefore, shows the presence of the np interaction which facilitates electron delocalisation and thus impacting aspirin's chemical and physical properties.The np interaction assists in determining the conformational of aspirin through alteration of the distance between the donor oxygen and acceptor carbon thus consequently impact its strength. Over the years, a lot of lab experiments have been carried out to determine the various ways through which the alteration of aspirin's molecular structure affect its strength, effectiveness and quantity used to achieve the desired outcome. With this knowledge, scientists can identify other NSAIDs and medicines that can play similar roles or can be used together to create the desired result. For instance, in the lab achieving the alteration of the np interaction involves introducing electron-donating groups (EDGs) or electron-withdrawing groups (EWGs). The role of the latter in the process is to strengthen the interaction through reduced energy of the porbital of its ester carbonyl group while the former weakens the strength of the communication through increased power of the same. This chemical enables in the determination of the chemical and physical properties of aspirin.

Bojic et al. (2015) explain that the acetyl group in aspirin is immediately either enzymatically or non-enzymatically hydrolysed after oral consumption to form salicylic acid in the body.Metabolism instantly occurs through various ways (Figure 2) often triggered by glucuronides and an acyl-CoA N-acyltransferase. Non-enzymatic Fenton-type reactions and P450s are the primary products of oxidation of salicylic acid.Aspirin metabolism in human beings and various animals vary depending on the catalysts used. Additionally, the half-life of the drug is also different ranging from 1-38 hours for animals and 6 hours for human beings (Bojic et al. 2015). Therefore, the use of catalysts such as P450s and UGTs successfully oxidises Salicylic acid and aspirins depending on the amount used and duration. The presence of oxidising agents in the human body increases the rate of metabolism once the drug is consumed and are dependent on the concentration and time.

Mukherjee, Ray and Barghi(2016) assert that hydrolysis of aspirin results to the creation of acetic acid and salicylic acid. The latter is further oxidise...