Methyl salicylate liquid
Methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen or wintergreen oil) is an organic ester naturally produced by many species of plants, particularly wintergreens.
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Yellow Card reports
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Methyl salicylate
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Data from the MHRA Yellow Card scheme. A reported reaction does not necessarily mean the medicine caused it. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Methyl salicylate
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3 branded products available
Therapeutically similar medicines
Similarity is based on WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and on a factual NHS dm+d therapeutic-grouping code prefix. Source data: NHS dm+d via TRUD (OGL v3.0), WHO ATC/DDD Index.
NHS prescribing volume and spending trends
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Supply & safety information
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Codes for healthcare professionals and prescribing systems
These codes are used by healthcare IT systems and prescribers to identify this medicine.
NHS UK identifiers
SNOMED CT and dm+d codes from NHS TRUD (Technology Reference data Update Distribution), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. BNF code shown is the factual mapping value distributed by NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) in the dm+d supplementary file under OGL v3.0; it is not affiliated with, nor licensed from, the publishers of the British National Formulary.
Active and completed clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Data accessed via ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Trial information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Academic studies and reviews for this medicine's active substance
Showing the 50 most relevant studies.
Reviews & meta-analyses: 13 · Randomised trials: 1 · 1997–2025
Showing the 50 most relevant studies, sorted by most relevant.
C. Rodriguez-Saona, I. Kaplan, Joseph E Braasch, et al.
Biological Control, 2011
María Rosa Rossetti, Nicolás Kuzmanich, Martín Videla, et al.
Entomologia Generalis, 2025
Versteeg N, Wellauer V, Wittenwiler S, et al.
2024
IntroductionMethyl salicylate, the main compound of wintergreen oil, is widely used in topical applications. However, its vascular and thermosensory effects are not fully understood. The primary aim was to investigate the effects of topical methyl salicylate on skin temperature (Tskin), skin microcirculation (MCskin) and muscle oxygen saturation (SmO2) compared to a placebo gel. The secondary aim was to assess thermosensory responses (thermal sensation, thermal comfort) and to explore to which extent these sensations correspond to the physiological responses over time.Methods21 healthy women (22.2 ± 2.9 years) participated in this single-blind, randomized controlled trial. Custom-made natural wintergreen oil (12.9%), containing methyl salicylate (>99%) and a placebo gel, 1 g each, were applied simultaneously to two paravertebral skin areas (5 cm × 10 cm, Th4-Th7). Tskin (infrared thermal imaging), MCskin (laser speckle contrast imaging) and SmO2 (deep tissue oxygenation monitoring) and thermosensation (Likert scales) were assessed at baseline (BL) and at 5-min intervals during a 45 min post-application period (T0-T45).ResultsBoth gels caused an initial decrease in Tskin, with Tskin(min) at T5 for both methyl salicylate (BL-T5: Δ-3.36°C) and placebo (BL-T5: Δ-3.90°C), followed by a gradual increase (p skin than placebo between T5 and T40 (p skin increased, with MCskin(max) at T5 (BL-T5: Δ88.7%). For placebo, MCskin decreased (BL-T5: Δ-17.5%), with significantly lower values compared to methyl salicylate between T0 and T45 (p 2, with no significant differences between methyl salicylate and placebo (p > .05). Thermal sensation responses to topical methyl salicylate ranged from "cool" to "hot", with more intense sensations reported at T5.DiscussionThe findings indicate that topical methyl salicylate induces short-term cutaneous vasodilation, but it may not enhance skeletal muscle blood flow. This study highlights the complex sensory responses to its application, which may be based on the short-term modulation of thermosensitive transient receptor potential channels.
Abstract licence: CC BY
Qianhong Gong, Yunjing Wang, Linfang He, et al.
Nature, 2023
- Aphids
- Plants
- Salicylic Acid
Sang-Wook Park, E. Kaimoyo, Dhirendra Kumar, et al.
Science, 2007
V. Shulaev, P. Silverman, I. Raskin
Nature, 1997
K. Ament, M. Kant, M. Sabelis, et al.
Plant Physiology, 2004
Junwei Zhu, K. Park
Journal of Chemical Ecology, 2005
F. Forouhar, Yue Yang, Dhirendra Kumar, et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2005
M. Sayyari, M. Babalar, S. Kalantari, et al.
Food Chemistry, 2011
Sources: aggregated from Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI), OpenAlex, Crossref, PubMed and other open scholarly databases. Retracted articles are excluded. Study information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Pharmacology and chemical data from DrugBank
Key facts
Drug status
Approved
Major interactions
13 found
Half-life
2 to 3 hr
Mechanism
Counter-irritation is thought to be effective at alleviating musculoskeletal pai…
Food interactions
None known
Human targets
1 target
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
12-20%
Half-life
2 to 3 hr
Protein binding
Volume of distribution
Metabolism
Elimination
10%
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 370 interactions
Severe toxicity can result in acute lung injury, lethargy, coma, seizures, cerebral edema, and death. In case of salicylate poisoning, the treatment consists of general supportive care, gastrointestinal decontamination with activated charcoal in cases of salicylate ingestion, and monitoring of serum salicylate concentrations. Bicarbonate infusions or hemodialysis can be used to achieve enhanced salicylate elimination .
[A19287]
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[L777]
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
PMID:17259981 PMID:21195050 PMID:21873995 PMID:23199233 PMID:25389312 PMID:33152265
Has a relatively high Ca(2+) selectivity, with a preference for divalent over monovalent cations (Ca(2+) > Ba(2+) > Mg(2+) > NH4(+) > Li(+) > K(+)), the influx of cation into the cytoplasm leads to membrane depolarization .
PMID:19202543 PMID:21195050
Has a central role in the pain response to endogenous inflammatory mediators, such as bradykinin and to a diverse array of irritants. Activated by a large variety of structurally unrelated electrophilic and non-electrophilic chemical compounds, such as allylthiocyanate (AITC) from mustard oil or wasabi, cinnamaldehyde, diallyl disulfide (DADS) from garlic, and acrolein, an environmental irritant .
PMID:20547126 PMID:25389312 PMID:27241698 PMID:30878828
Electrophilic ligands activate TRPA1 by interacting with critical N-terminal Cys residues in a covalent manner .
PMID:17164327 PMID:27241698 PMID:31866091 PMID:32641835
Non-electrophile agonists bind at distinct sites in the transmembrane domain to promote channel activation .
PMID:33152265
Also acts as an ionotropic cannabinoid receptor by being activated by delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of marijuana .
PMID:25389312
May be a component for the mechanosensitive transduction channel of hair cells in inner ear, thereby participating in the perception of sounds (By similarity)
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
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Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Linked compound data from DrugBank Open Data (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Methyl salicylate
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
628
ChemSpider
13848808
ZINC
ZINC000000000490
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:497
GenAtlas
TRPA1
GeneCards
TRPA1
GenBank Gene Database
Y10601
GenBank Protein Database
3287188
Guide to Pharmacology
485
UniProt Accession
TRPA1_HUMAN
DrugBank citations
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Structured knowledge from the free knowledge base
Linked open data from Wikidata (Q407669), a free and open knowledge base operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Data is available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication.