A bitter glucoside compound extracted from ash tree bark, historically used as a laxative or purgative medicine.
From 'Fraxinus,' the Latin botanical name for ash trees. The suffix '-in' denotes a chemical compound, establishing that this substance comes from ash trees.
Medieval physicians loved prescribing fraxin as a laxative because ash trees grew everywhere in Europe, making it accessible medicine—and they could explain its bitter taste as evidence of its 'powerful' medicinal action, which actually worked for the intended purpose.
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