Salicylic Acid Salicylic Acid (plant Hormone)

Name	salicylic acid (Mr = 132.12
Systematic name	2-hydroxybenzoic acid
Formula	C₆H₄( OH) CO₂H
Melting point	159°C (318°F)
Boiling point	211°C (412°F)
Color	white, crystalline
Structure

Salicylic acid is a colorless, crystalline organic carboxylic acid. It is usually prepared by Kolbe synthesis (aka Kolbe-Schmitt reaction), which works by heating sodium phenolate (the sodium salt of phenol) with carbon dioxide under pressure (100 atm, 125°C), then treating it with sulfuric acid.

It is toxic if digested in large quantities, but in small quantities is used as a food preservative and antisepticAn antiseptic is a substance that kills, or prevents the growth of, bacteria on the external surfaces of the body. It can be contrasted with antibiotics which perform a similar function within the body, and disinfectants which operate on nonliving objects in toothpasteToothpaste is a paste used, almost always in conjunction with a toothbrush, to clean teeth. The earliest known reference to a toothpaste is in a manuscript from Egypt in the 4th century A. which prescribes a mixture of powdered salt, pepper, mint leaves,. The carboxyl group (-COOH) can react with alcoholsIn general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-khwl , or al-ghawl ) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage . This sense underlies the term alcoholism ( addiction to a, forming several useful estersFor the Biblical Ester, see Esther. For the town, see Ester, Alaska. In organic chemistry and biochemistry esters are substances that have the functional group R´-COOR" (the carbon is double-bonded to one oxygen atom and single-bonded to another) and cons. The hydroxyl group (-OH) can react with acetic acidThe chemical compound acetic acid (from the Latin word acetum meaning "vinegar"), systematically called ethanoic acid is the acid that gives vinegar its sour taste. It is a carboxylic acid with chemical formula CHO, often written as CHCOOH to better refle to acetylsalicylic acid. Salicylic acid can also trap oxygen (O₂) and initiate free radical reactions.

Salicylic acid is the active ingredient in many skin-care products for the treatment of acne and warts. It helps acne by causing skin cells to slough off more readily, preventing pores from clogging up.

The medicinal properties of salicylate (mainly the lowering of fever) have been known since ancient times. The substance occurs in the bark of willow trees and the name Salicylic acid is derived from the latin name for the Willow tree - Salix.

"Vitamin S"

"Vitamin S" is a proposed alternative name for salicylate, which would have the effect of classifying it as a vitamin. There is no generally agreed definition of what constitutes a vitamin, though salicylate meets at least one of the requirements:

it is present in our natural diet in fruit and vegetables, particularly if they have had to defend themselves against damage or disease
it isn't produced by our bodies
trace amounts, it has been suggested, are required for the maintenance of life

This last point is controversial because salicylate deficiency, unlike, say, Vitamin C deficiency, which causes scurvy, does not result in any particular known symptoms. A low salicylate intake seems to be related to longer term problems, resulting in higher risks of age-related chronic diseases.

Whereas most vitamins are enzyme cofactor s, promoting cellular biochemical reactions - Vitamin C boosts production of collagen - salicylate is not, but then nor is Vitamin E, which is an antioxidant, like salicylate.

Lack of salicylate appears to predispose humans to:

It can be argued that salicylate has a better claim to be called a vitamin than vitamins A and D.

Whether or not you choose to call aspirin a vitamin, there is still a case to be made that salicylate is an important micronutrient.

There is evidence that salicylates in past ages were much more common in human diets than they are now. Salicylates are produced by fruit as a defense mechanism: inducing damaged and diseased cells to commit suicide. Modern man's predilection for fruit and vegetables in a pristine condition - with shoppers often rejecting fruit with bumps of bruises - means that we eat less salicylates than in the past. A study has shown that organic vegetable soups contain nearly six times as much salicylate as non-organic equivalents (European Journal of Nutrition, vol. 40 p 289).

Carboxylic acids Phenols

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"Vitamin S"

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