Paracetamol: Drug Stories Part-III
Discovery of Acetaminophen Acetamiophen is an analgesic and antipyretic agent with no anti-inflammatory action. Discovery of acetaminophen, more commonly known as paracetamol makes an interesting story. Discovery of paracetamol can be said to be a culmination of Serendipity, scientific acumen and diligence. Photo by James Yarema on Unsplash Industrial revolution brought a huge surge in commercial synthesis of many compounds, especially the dyes. There being a limited knowledge about biology, and a booming chemical industry led to testing of numerous compounds for various activities. The choice of activity to be studied was based more on expectations rather than rationale. Under these circumstances, Arnold Cahn and Paul Hepp, sometime around 1886 at the University of Strasbourg had been involved in testing a variety of chemicals (mostly dyes and products from coal tar processing) against i