Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

salicylate

 
Dictionary: sa·lic·y·late   (sə-lĭs'ə-lāt', -lĭt, săl'ə-sĭl'ĭt) pronunciation
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary

n.
A salt or ester of salicylic acid.

[SALICYL(IC ACID) + -ATE2.]


Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Sci-Tech Encyclopedia: Salicylate
Top
Home > Library > Science > Sci-Tech Encyclopedia

A salt or ester of salicylic acid having the general formula shown below

and formed by replacing the carboxylic hydrogen of the acid by a metal (M) to give a salt or by an organic radical (R) to give an ester. Alkali-metal salts are water-soluble; the others, insoluble. Sodium salicylate is used in medicines as an antirheumatic and antiseptic, in the manufacture of dyes, and as a preservative (illegal in foods). Salicylic acid is used in the preparation of aspirin. The methyl ester is the chief component of oil of wintergreen. This ester is used in pharmaceuticals as a component of rubbing liniment. It is also used as a flavoring agent and an odorant. See also Aspirin.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: salicylate
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Columbia Encyclopedia
salicylate (səlĭs'əlāt'), any of a group of analgesics, or painkilling drugs, that are derivatives of salicylic acid. The best known is acetylsalicylic acid, or aspirin. Now often made synthetically, they were originally derived from salicin, the active ingredient in willow bark, used for centuries in the treatment of pain and fever. Salicylates also occur naturally in many plants used as foods (e.g., strawberries, almonds, tomatoes). Methyl salicylate is the main component of wintergreen, sweet birch, gautheria, and betula oils; the compound is used in rubbing liniments to soothe muscular aches and as a flavoring. Sodium salicylate, traditionally used in the treatment of arthritis, is also used in dyes and as a nonedible preservative.

In general, salicylates, especially aspirin, are used medically to reduce fever and inflammation and to relieve headache, menstrual pain, and pain in nerves, muscles, and joints. Because of the effects of salicylates on blood platelets and clotting, aspirin is often prescribed prophylactically for those at risk of stroke or heart attack. Salicylates are useful, relatively safe drugs, but normal doses can cause gastrointestinal disturbances in sensitive patients and large doses can be toxic or fatal, especially to children.

Veterinary Dictionary: salicylate
Top
Home > Library > Animal Life > Veterinary Dictionary

Any salt or ester of salicylic acid. The salicylates used as drugs for their analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects include aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid, ASA), methyl salicylate and sodium salicylate. Low dosages of salicylates are used primarily for the relief of mild-to-moderate pain or fever.
The mechanism of most of the effects of aspirin and other salicylates is inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis, thus blocking pyretic and inflammatory processes that are mediated by prostaglandins.
Aspirin also prolongs the bleeding time through its effects on platelets owing to both inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis and acetylation of platelet structures. Salicylates also cause ulceration and hemorrhagic lesions of the gastric mucosa; the same mechanisms involved in the anti-inflammatory effects increase the production of stomach acid, decrease the secretion of protective mucus and increase bleeding. See also aspirin poisoning.

Shopping: salicylate
Top
Magnesium Salicylate Tetrahydrate Review
 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Sci-Tech Encyclopedia. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more