Aspergum is the United States trademark name for an analgesic chewing gum, whose active ingredient is aspirin. Aspergum is owned by Retrobrands USA LLC.
Aspergum contained 227 mg (3½ grains) of aspirin, and was available in cherry and orange flavors.[1] This product was generally used for the analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-pyretic properties of its active ingredient. The Aspergum trademark is currently owned by Insight Pharmaceuticals,[2] the same company that produces the aspirin- and caffeine-based Anacin.
History
Medicated chewing gum containing aspirin was first sold in the United States in 1924.[3] In December 1927, Frank M. Dillard and William C. Nalle formed the Dillard-Nalle company and sought U.S. trademark protection for Aspergum.[4] Dillard-Nalle then began selling their Dellard's Aspergum in the United States in 1928.[5][6] it was an early example of a functional gum – chewing gum as a drug delivery system.
It was significant in the recognition of aspirin's antithrombotic effect, when general practitioner Lawrence Craven reported in 1953 that patients who chewed Aspergum as an analgesic after tonsillectomy tended to bleed more easily.[7][8]
See also
- Functional gum
External links
References
- Aspirin, online reference, Complementary Medicine, University of Maryland Medical Center^
- U.S. Trademark Notice-Acceptance-Renewal dated January 16, 2006^
- Washington, Neena et al. (21 December 2000) Physiological Pharmaceutics: Barriers to Drug Absorption.