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Salix purpurea (Purple Willow)
More than 300 different species, including the white willow (S. alba), purple willow (S. purpurea) and the willow most commonly used for weaving (S. viminalis), belong to the genus Salix. Willows grow as small or large trees or as shrubs, usually in the wetlands of the northern temperate or cold climate zones. All species of willows have the same kind of silky catkins – popularly known as pussy willows – which appear on spring shoots before the leaves. Male and female flowers of the catkins occur on separate trees. Willow bark has been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times. Stripped from young twigs, the bark contains the willow’s most important active ingredient, salicin. In the body salicin is gradually converted into salicylic acid, which relieves pain, inhibits inflammation and reduces fever. At the end of the 18th century, the discovery of salicylic acid and its therapeutic effects led to the development and synthesis of acetylsalicylic acid, a basic constituent of many painrelievers. Besides salicin, willow bark also contains other phenolic glycosides as well as flavonoids and tannins. It is probably the combination of these constituents that is responsible for the pain-relieving effect of willow bark.
Preparations made from willow bark are primarily used to treat chronic pain. They have been tried and tested as well-tolerated alternatives to other pain relievers, especially to treat the symptoms of rheumatism. One example is the product Assalix®. For adults, willow bark is also suitable to reduce fever, for example in the case of slight colds. Since salicin is slow to convert into the therapeutically effective salicylic acid in the body, willow bark is not recommended to treat acute pain.
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Stand: 28-08-2008
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