Salicylic acid Medicinal properties

Many medicines that we now use and often take for granted were based on the healing properties of plants and other natural sources known to traditional healers. Aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid, is a chemically modified form of salicylic acid, a chemical extracted in the early 19 century from willow tree bark, which had been known for centuries to reduce fevers. Today, aspirin is chemically... 

Aspirin is the most widely used medication. Over 10,000 tons of aspirin are used in this country annually, and worldwide the annual consumption is 35,000 tons. The history of acetylsalicylic acid actually goes back thousands of years. Hippocrates (460-377 B.c.) and the ancient Greeks used powdered willow bark and leaves to reduce fever (antipyretic) and as a pain reliever (analgesic). Native American populations also used willow and oil of wintergreen for medication. The chemicals responsible for the medicinal properties in willow and oil of wintergreen are forms of salicylates. Willows (genus Salix) contain salicin and oil of wintergreen contains methyl salicylate. 

For many decades the pain relieving properties of willow bark extracts have been used in folk medicine (Fig. 1). Glycoside cleavage and oxidation is necessary for the biosynthesis of salicylic acid from the plant precursor p-D-glucopyranoside, the so-called saligenins. 

Salicylic acid esters - [SALICYLIC ACID AND RELATED COMPOUNDS] pol 21) -medicinal properties pSTERS, ORGANIC] (Vol 9)... 

Aspirin (Figure 15.12) is one of the most frequendy used painkillers in the world. It is also able to reduce inflammation and fever and a low dose taken on a daily basis over the age of 50 may prevent heart attacks. It is derived from another acid, salicylic acid, which can be obtained from willow bark. Salicylic acid has the same medicinal properties as aspirin and has been known since 1829. Salicylic acid, however, caused stomach bleeding. The conversion of salicylic acid to aspirin reduced these problems, but aspirin still has some adverse effects on the stomach if taken in excess. 

Medicinal Properties.—Salicylic acid is an antiseptic and preservative j being used in the preservation of foods, though generally restricted or prohibited by pure food laws. 

Salol and Aspirin.— The sodium salt and several derivatives possess medicinal properties as internal antiseptics as antipyretics or temperature reducers, and to lessen the pain of rheumatism. The most common of these are salol, which is the phenyl ester of salicylic acid, as an acid, and aspirin, which is the acetic acid ester of salicylic acid, as a phenol. 

Betol. Salol.— Another simple derivative of 6e/a-naphthol is the beta-naphthyl ester of salicylic acid analogous to oil of wintergreen, the methyl ester. It is another of the derivatives of this acid which has valuable medicinal properties. It is known as betol, also medicinally as salol. 

Salicylic acid and its salts (it is monobasic, although diatomic) are extensively used in medicine, both externally as antiseptics and internally in the treatment of rheumatism, etc. It is not aitbout caustic properties, and hence, when taken internally, it ahould be largely diluted. 

An attempt is made to synthesise a polymer that will act as a controlled delivery device in targeting specific areas, such as the colon, over an extended period of time. The polymers being synthesised, polyanhydride esters, are composed of alkyl chains linked by ester bonds to aromatic moieties, specifically salicylic acid - the active component of aspirin. With the medicinal properties attributed to salicyclic acid and the ease of metabolism, the incorporation of this compound into a polymer backbone yields a polymeric prodrug that may have potential in a variety of applications, in particular, inflammatory bowel disease. For these reasons, a synthetic scheme that yields the desired polyanhydride esters is designed. Characterisation of the polymers is performed and presented along with preliminary in vitro and possible... 

Aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid, is the most well known member of a group of compounds called salicylates. Although aspirin was first used in medicine for its analgesic (pain-relieving), antipyretic (fever-reducing), and anti-inflammatory properties, today it is commonly used as an antiplatelet agent in the treatment and prevention of heart attacks and strokes. Aspirin is a synthetic compound it does not occur in nature, though some related salicylates are found in willow bark and meadowsweet blossoms. 

Alkaloids are usually basic and combine with acids to form alkaloid salts, a property often exploited to extract them from their source. Other alkaloids occur naturally as salts of organic acids. Common salts include hydrochlorides, salicylates, sulphates, nitrates, acetates, and tartrates such as morphine acetate, cocaine hydrochloride, and strychnine nitrate. Water, alcohol, and ether solutions of alkaloids and their salts are often used to administer or carry the alkaloid, particularly for medicinal purposes. Nicotine preparations can include a variety of liquid and solid mixtures of nicotine (soluble in alcohol, chloroform, ether, and water), nicotine salts, and many other nicotine compounds (e.g., nicotine sulphate and nicotine tartrate). 

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