Paracetamol
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
Paracetamol (or acetaminophen) is a common analgesic. It is a drug that is used to relieve pain. It can also be used to reduce fever or some kinds of headache. This makes it an antipyretic. It is a common ingredient in some drugs used against flu or colds.
It is considered safe for use, if it is taken in the prescribed doses. But because it is so commonly available, drug overuse is fairly common. This overuse can be deliberate or accidental.
The words acetaminophen and paracetamol both come from the chemical names for the compound: N-acetyl-para-aminophenol and para-acetyl-amino-phenol. In some contexts, it is shortened to apap, for N-acetyl-para-aminophenol.
[change] History
The antipyretics known in ancient and medieval times were substances contained in the bark of the white willow. Today these substances are known as salicins. Aspirin was developed from them. Other substances with such properties came from the bark of the cinchona. Cinchona bark was also used to make the anti-malaria drug quinine. Quinine itself also has antipyretic effects. Efforts to refine and isolate salicin and salicylic acid took place throughout the middle- and late-19th century. This was done by Bayer chemist Felix Hoffmann (French chemist Charles Frédéric Gerhardt also started it, 40 years earlier, but he abandoned the work after deciding it was too impractical).[1]
[change] References
- ↑ The Aspirin story. Did You Know?. Retrieved on 29 December 2006.