Short video spoiler history: The beginning of modern warfare

Chapter 167 Aspirin?

[The fact that willow bark can relieve pain was already known to ancient Babylonians, ancient Egyptians, and our Chinese ancestors thousands of years ago, but the key substance, salicylic acid, was not extracted until the end of the 19th century.]

[After the willow bark is pounded, the juice extracted contains salicin, also known as willow glycoside, which is a combination of salicylic acid and glucose molecules. After the human body ingests this substance, it will be decomposed into salicylic acid after digestion]

[During the S1 season of the last century and the Spanish flu in 1918 that swept across Europe and killed 1 million people, a drug whose main ingredient was salicylic acid directly ascended to the altar and was called one of the three major drugs in medical history together with penicillin. This drug is aspirin]

[Strictly speaking, the main ingredient of aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid, because drinking too much salicylic acid is very harmful to the stomach and intestines. Acetylsalicylic acid is a chemically synthesized drug. Not only does it not destroy the efficacy of salicylic acid, but it also reduces the side effects of salicylic acid to a minimum. Once it was released, it quickly became a hit]

[Until now, aspirin is still one of the most widely used drugs. It is mainly used for antipyretic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-rheumatic, and can prevent thrombosis. It is clinically used to prevent transient ischemic attacks, myocardial infarction, artificial heart valves, venous fistulas or other post-operative thrombosis.]

[The story from willow sap to salicin and salicylic acid is also related to malaria, because malaria patients usually have alternating hot and cold. In that era when it was difficult to distinguish between symptoms and causes, it was generally believed that the disease would naturally heal if the fever went down. Willow sap happened to have the effects of reducing fever and relieving pain, which was a perfect opportunity.]

[After that, various circles in Europe started to study salicylic acid. The earliest acetylsalicylic acid was synthesized in a dyeing factory. Don't be surprised, the chemical industry was booming at that time, and the boundary between dyeing factories and pharmaceutical factories was not clear.]

[Back to the topic, it is very simple to extract salicin from willow sap. Take the thicker willow branches and peel them (white willow and purple willow are preferred, the inner part of the bark is light red and the medicinal effect will be better). Wash and cut the willow bark into pieces, soak it in water and heat it to boiling, then turn to medium heat and cook for 60 minutes.]

[Filter out the remaining willow bark, and a bowl of reddish-brown willow tea is ready. Minor headaches, fever, toothaches, and joint pains can be relieved with this bowl of tea.]

In the Ping'an Medical Clinic in Jinling City.

Whenever the sky brightens, there are generally few patients visiting unless they have life-threatening or serious illnesses.

Therefore, every time this day comes, all the doctors, apprentices, and clinic servants are happy to relax. The same is true for Doctor Ma and the apprentices in Ping An Clinic.

However, at this time, the expressions of several people changed again and again, and finally turned into ecstasy.

“As famous as penicillin?” Even the knowledgeable Dr. Ma couldn’t help but gasp. Moreover, unlike penicillin, which has troublesome and harsh production conditions, the raw material of salicin is actually the juice of willow bark?
The apprentices were also frightened, but after they came to their senses, they grabbed the banknotes, copied down the preparation process, and simplified the text.

"Boil the white and purple willow bark until boiling, then turn to medium heat and cook for half an hour."

"Boiling willow branches in water has the effects of dispelling wind and dampness, detoxifying and reducing swelling. According to folk medicine, it can be used to gargle after boiling the wine to treat toothache, and as a bath to treat gout, swelling and itching." Doctor Ma said that these are all the medication experiences he knows.

But he had been practicing medicine for decades and even though he was over 50 years old, he had never thought about why willow bark juice had such an effect. What he had never thought about was whether willow bark juice had other effects.

For example, in terms of pain relief, besides toothache, what about headache, joint pain and other symptoms? Are they also effective?

Put aside the shameful thoughts, the sky curtain also mentioned malaria. Willow bark decoction is the third medicine related to malaria (cinchona bark, artemisinin, willow bark).

Having personally tried the efficacy of artemisinin extracted from Artemisia absinthium, he firmly believed in the efficacy of the so-called salicin.

In Jinling City, many women did not have paper and pen at home, and could not write, so they memorized everything in their minds at once.

The analgesic and fever-reducing effects of boiling willow bark water are enough to make them excited.

What's more, it is anti-inflammatory, anti-rheumatic, and prevents various heart diseases.

In any era, medical treatment is very expensive.

Who doesn't have children or elderly people? Who doesn't have children who have fever and colds in summer and autumn? Who doesn't have headaches and toothaches? Compared with boiling the willow bark, boiling water can be regarded as a medicine for reducing fever, and the cost is very low.

They are grateful to Tianmu. Artemisinin, which is used to treat malaria, and allicin, which is used to treat inflammation and swelling caused by various bacteria and viruses, have benefited everyone. Artemisinin, in particular, has been the most effective prescription for treating malaria since ancient times.

Therefore, they put down the work in their hands, stopped arranging the right and wrong, and memorized carefully, not daring to be careless.

Looking at the progress bar below the video, there must be other steps to make the drug more effective.

[If you want to get salicin with better effects, you need to continue heating the remaining solution until you see reddish-brown crystals precipitate at the bottom of the solution. Stop heating, then cool the solution with ice water. After more crystals precipitate, filter the solution again. The crystals obtained at the end are crude salicin.]

[If you want to further purify salicylic acid, you can add 4 times the volume of medical alcohol or high-proof liquor when the reddish-brown crystal cylinder is produced. Since salicin is insoluble in alcohol, the purity of the salicin crystals precipitated after adding alcohol will be higher. The medicinal effects of salicin are similar to those of aspirin, relieving pain, inflammation, and fever, and preventing cardiovascular diseases.]

[However, salicin needs to be metabolized in the body after oral administration to be converted into salicylic acid, so its efficacy is slightly worse. However, compared with salicylic acid, it is easier to make, has fewer side effects, and can be stored for a long time as long as it is kept away from light and moisture.]

[Compared with salicylic acid, it is more effective, works faster, and can kill fungi, but it is an acid after all, and it will deteriorate when exposed to air. So it is best to use it as soon as it is made. And you need to take protective measures when making it.]

[The first few steps of extracting salicylic acid are the same as salicin, which is to pick some willow bark, cut it into small pieces, and then boil it in water for 60 minutes, filter out the excess willow bark, then add an appropriate amount of dilute hydrochloric acid or dilute sulfuric acid, stir well and let it stand for several hours] [Full reaction can convert salicylic acid into salicylic acid. Continue to heat the solution over low heat, and salicylic acid crystals will precipitate. You can also use ice water to cool the solution to speed up the crystallization. Finally, filter out the crystals and soak them in high alcohol for a few minutes to dissolve the impurities, and you can get crude salicylic acid]

[In addition to relieving pain and inflammation, low concentrations of salicylic acid can also treat skin diseases and athlete's foot. However, it is important to remember that salicylic acid crystals must not be taken or applied directly. Even higher concentrations of salicylic acid solution can cause skin discomfort. Taking it can cause gastrointestinal irritation, gastric bleeding, and even acidosis.]

[So it must be diluted with a lot of water before use]

[As for aspirin, since it involves chemical synthesis, it is recommended that you choose proven drugs such as ibuprofen as the first choice for pain relief. Follow the doctor's advice and do not take the medicine at will. ]

Late Han Dynasty, Yecheng.

"Great, what a great willow branch!" Cao Cao laughed, very happy, and ordered the doctor to prepare some salicin.

His headaches were an old problem that had been with him for years and were getting worse. When they were not flaring up, he could handle government affairs and fight enemies normally, but when they did, it was like someone hitting his head with a hammer, the pain was unbearable.

He invited many famous doctors, but not only could they not cure the disease, but they also had difficulty relieving the pain. There was even a traitor who absurdly advised him to perform a craniotomy, luckily he was a doctor.

How can you survive after having your head opened?

Not to mention that there are so many fungi, bacteria and viruses in the air. Not to mention the diagnosis and treatment issues, the infection alone could take his life, so he would not regret killing Hua Tuo.

In comparison, he definitely trusts Tianmu's prescription more.

Because allicin can reduce inflammation and kill bacteria, strong liquor can clean wounds and prevent infection, artemisinin, etc. are all well-known prescriptions.

Especially the first two, which saved countless soldiers, and garlic was also promoted to hard currency. In the past six months, every household has been planting it for backup.

"Pi'er, you should also pick a time to try it and see if it can cure your toothache. You should also avoid certain foods on weekdays and don't indulge in your appetite." Cao Cao said to Cao Pi who was sitting below him. Through the sky curtain, he understood the history that followed.

Overall, he still likes Zhi'er more, but it is undeniable that Cao Zhi is more relaxed and more like a literati, and Pi'er is not bad either.

Cao Pi, who was sitting below, was stunned for a moment, and his eyes suddenly became red. He had lived under the shadow of his father all his life, but at the same time, didn't he also want his recognition?

His father had never cared about him like this before, so he said excitedly with tears in his eyes: "Thank you for your concern and teachings, I will always keep them in mind."

Cao Cao felt even more guilty when he saw him like this. When he was born, he wanted to write the word "fei" (meaning "bad luck turns to good luck") when naming him, but he lost the mood halfway through, so he named him Pi.

So he waved his hand and looked at the comment section again.

Everyone present, including Xun Yu, Chen Qun, Cheng Yu, Jia Xu and others, had extremely complicated expressions. Has the future crown prince and emperor been decided like this?

Cao Zhi on the other side turned even paler. He couldn't understand why he was eliminated like this.
Although his father always made the two brothers get along well after learning about the history, the conflict between them was real, and the throne could only accommodate one person. Although in history, his elder brother did not make things difficult for him, no matter what, how could he know that he was inferior to his elder brother without trying?
He looked at his father and opened his mouth.
In front of the Fengtian Hall, everyone was a little disappointed. Because the sky curtain did not mention the preparation process of aspirin
I don’t know if it’s because the process is complicated or for other reasons, so everyone can only sigh.

Director Zhang of the Imperial Medical Bureau carefully copied down some of the content from the comments section. From the comments, he learned that this thing is very harmful to the stomach, so it should be used with caution.

“It was called a miracle drug because it was used on a large scale for relieving pain and reducing fever, right?” Although everyone did not understand its specific mechanism of action, they knew that when a virus attacks human cells, the immune cells would fight back, and at the same time, an increase in body temperature would inhibit the growth of bacteria and viruses.

In this case, the fever is not so easy to reduce.

That is why it was so widely used during the 1918 flu pandemic.

"What a pity!" Various medicines in later generations are miraculous, but they are obviously impossible to produce in this era. Therefore, people are very happy about this kind of medicine which is easy to extract and effective for so many diseases. Unfortunately, its side effects are large.

"It's a pity. But if there are no other prescriptions or medicines to treat it, it can still be used as appropriate."

Judge Zhang acted as if he hadn't heard it and made no comment.

"This stuff is very harmful to the stomach. Even aspirin has certain side effects, so there is ibuprofen which is more effective and has fewer side effects, so don't be too smart."

"I always eat willow bark directly"

"This thing is just for fun and to broaden your horizons. But I heard that malaria has won several Nobel Prizes. I didn't expect aspirin is also related to it."

(End of this chapter)