Aspirin safe for digestion

JAKARTA: The active ingredient of aspirin, acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), was proven safe for the gastrointestinal tract, according to a study published in the European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences this month.

The objective of the study approved by the ethics committee of Uppsala University, Sweden, and by Guy's Research Hospital ethics committee in London was to evaluate and compare the incidence of upper gastrointestinal complaints to acetylsalicylic acid and paracetamol.

The subjective gastrointestinal complaints examined were stomach pain, burning sensations, nausea, heartburn, gas and indigestion. ASA and paracetamol were chosen because the two substances are the most commonly used analgesics.

Six hundred healthy volunteers in three treatment groups received acetylsalicylic acid, paracetamol or placebo. Subjects filled in a questionnaire at one-half, one, two, three and four hours after dosing to evaluate gastrointestinal complaints.

The results showed that the number of subjects reporting gastrointestinal intolerance were 50 of 200 in the placebo group, 46 of 200 in the paracetamol group and 56 of 201 in the acetylsalicylic group. This test indicated that gastrointestinal complaints as a result of taking ASA and paracetamol are similar and did not differ from the subjects who took the placebo.