Apr 21, 2006

Natural Born Painkillers

Posted in Chemistry at 6:00 pm by David Bradley -- Click to comment

According to a press release I only just spotted from the journal “The Cochrane Library, a randomised controlled trials has demonstrated that extracts of Devils Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens), White Willow Bark (Salix alba) and Cayenne (Capsicum frutescens) all reduce low-back pain better than placebo. Devils’ Claw and White Willow Bark also compare well with conventional medicines, claim researchers in a a systematic review published in Issue 2 of the journal this week.

Devils’ Claw is apparently well known for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic qualities and purportedly can reduce pain to the same degree Vioxx (well anything can beat Vioxx these days, surely, seeing as it’s a banned medication). But, that aside, it’s the seeming surprise in finding that S. alba can relieve pain. An extract of cricket bat willow was the very product that kick-started the pharmaceutical industry when German manufacturer Bayer branded a modified version of the active component, acetylsalicylic acid, as aspirin.

There is no mention of this in the press release, but it’s unlikely that the papers authors were totally unaware of the natural evolution of this compound.

Surely.

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