Nature’s First Aspirin: Pain-Relieving White Willow Bark
A Featured Herbal Medicine in Four Seasons Harmony Apothecary
The white willow tree, Salix alba, dates back in medicine to being the original form of aspirin, most especially through its renowned anti-inflammatory salicylic acid chemical constituent. This tree has always struck me as gorgeous with an unusual shape. Seeing a beautiful willow tree and its swaying branches as seemingly vulnerable while actually quite strong inspires feelings of strength, hope, peace, reflection, and wonder.
Clients often ask about natural sources of pain relief and there is extensive research showing this extraordinary’s herb capacity to reduce inflammation. White willow’s herbal actions include functioning as a whole plant medicine analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and tonic. Post-surgery pain recovery, headaches, PMS, and sensitive digestive systems that cannot tolerate NSAIDS are several general, common reasons that I’ve noticed inspire regular interest in a natural form of pain relief without negative side effects. I have seen white willow bark included in many herbal analgesic blends on the market, and love to include this profound herb into customized clinical herbal formulas carefully created by hand in our Four Seasons Harmony apothercary.
Aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid is a synthetic elaboration of the whole plant chemical compound of salicylic acid found in white willow bark, Salix spp., and meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria (Ganora, 2009). This over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) is commonly used for relief of mild to moderate pain, swelling and inflammation. The potential dangers posed by aspirin can lead to issues like stomach ulcers, hemorrhaging and gastric irritation is reflective only of synthetic salicylates, but not the whole form of salicylate-containing herbs such as meadowsweet or willow bark (Hoffman, 2003; Bone & Mills, 2013).
There are fascinating references of white willow being applied in Romania for ethnopediatry, where it has been traditionally used in Romanian folk medicine to treat child epilepsy (Petran et al., 2020). White willow is regarded as applicable in antiseptic, astringent, fever, malaria, and rheumatism in Turkey, as well as for malaria in Spain and an astringent and callus across Europe (Duke, 1992). Parts of the plant used include in herbal medicine include the leaf, bark, wood, stem, pollen, folium, stem bark, wood, root and spore (Duke, 1992; Royal Botanic Gardens, n.d.). This tree’s habitat includes “wet soils of stream banks and valleys near cities (Little, 1980, p. 328).”
-Whitney Erwin, MSc, MEd, LMT, owner and clinical herbalist at Four Seasons Harmony
References
Bone, K., & Mills, S. (2013). Principles and practice of phytotherapy. Elsevier Ltd.
Duke, James A. 1992. Handbook of phytochemical constituents of GRAS herbs and other economic plants. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Retrieved from: https://phytochem.nal.usda.gov/phytochem/plants/show/1739qlookup=willow&offset=0&max=20&et=
Ganora, L. (2009). Herbal constituents: Foundations of phytochemistry. Herbalchem Press.
Hoffman, D. (2003). Medical herbalism: The science and practice of herbal medicine. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press.
Little, E. (1980). National audubon society field guide to north american trees. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
Moerman, Daniel. (2009). Native American medicinal plants. Portland, OR: Timber Press, Inc. United States Department of Agriculture. (2019). Salix alba L. white willow. Retrieved from: https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=SAAL2
Petran, M., Dragos, D. & Gilca, M. (2020). Historical ethnobotanical review of medicinal plants used to treat children diseases in Romania (1860s–1970s). J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine 16, Article 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-020-00364-6
