WILLOW TREE BARK IS AS GOOD AS ASPIRIN

THE most famous anti-inflammatory plant is white willow (Salix alba) — aspirin is derived from the chemical salicin in its bark and is still the world’s most widely used drug.

The bark itself — which is a traditionally used medicine for joint pain, headaches, gout, lumbago, sciatica, inflammation and fevers — could make a comeback on account of its superior safety as pain relief.

The few controlled trials in humans on willow bark show it reduces lower back pain, joint pain and treats osteoarthritis. One study which compared willow bark (at a dose equivalent to around 240mg salicin) to a prescription-only painkiller (a type of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) found it was as effective when given for more than six months to people with lower back pain.

Willow bark works for pain the same way as aspirin, by regulating prostaglandins (hormones released when cells are damaged). But the whole bark also lowers multiple inflammatory markers and has been shown to be as good as, if not more effective than, aspirin.

Willow bark takes longer to act but its effects last longer than aspirin. Also, willow bark does not cause internal bleeding — as can sometimes happen with aspirin — because salicin in willow bark is absorbed in the small intestine rather than the stomach.

Fresh or dried bark can be made into a decoction — a concentrated liquid for pain. Use 20g dried (or 40g fresh) finely chopped white willow bark in 750ml water simmered to 500ml water. Take 120ml three times daily.

If you have been prescribed aspirin, you should not switch or stop taking it, or take the two together, without consulting your GP.