Willow Bark
also known as white willow
Bark from a Eurasian willow tree, used as a pain and fever remedy for at least four thousand years — written about in ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman medical texts. Willow bark is the original aspirin: chemists isolated salicin from it in 1828, then refined it into the synthetic acetylsalicylic acid that became Bayer Aspirin in 1899. The modern herb works through the same family of compounds, more gently.
- Eases pain and inflammation — particularly back pain, joint pain, and headaches
- Mild fever-reducing action
- Long traditional use across European, Egyptian, and Greek medicine — Hippocrates wrote about willow bark for fever and pain in the 5th century BC
- Salicin in willow bark converts to salicylic acid in the body — the same active form that aspirin produces
- Generally gentler on the stomach than aspirin because the conversion happens slowly
- Approved by Germany's Commission E for low back pain and fever
- Often combined with other anti-inflammatory herbs for joint and muscle support
- Development and evaluation of a multifunctional natural composite microemulsion for anti-acne therapy: synergistic anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects.
- Influence of salicylic acid on plant defense, growth and biochemical composition of Salix alba infected with Lymantria obfuscata in Kashmir.
- Evaluating SSR marker transferability and plastid barcode variation in native Populus and Salix species of Türkiye.
Memorial Sloan Kettering About Herbs · EMA Herbal Medicinal Product Monographs · American Botanical Council HerbMedPro