Methyl Salicylate
Synthetic Ingredient for Perfumery
Methyl Salicylate, known as oil of wintergreen, is a synthetic and naturally occurring organic ester with a distinct wintergreen scent. This colorless to reddish liquid is used in perfumery, foods, beverages, and medicinal liniments for its characteristic odor and flavor profile.
Synthetic Ingredient for Perfumery
Methyl Salicylate, known as oil of wintergreen, is a synthetic and naturally occurring organic ester with a distinct wintergreen scent. This colorless to reddish liquid is used in perfumery, foods, beverages, and medicinal liniments for its characteristic odor and flavor profile.
Synthetic Ingredient for Perfumery
Methyl Salicylate, known as oil of wintergreen, is a synthetic and naturally occurring organic ester with a distinct wintergreen scent. This colorless to reddish liquid is used in perfumery, foods, beverages, and medicinal liniments for its characteristic odor and flavor profile.
Profile:
📂 CAS N° 119-36-8
⚖️ MW — 152.15 g/mol
📝 Odor Type — Narcotic / Medicinal. (Non trained users will say Minty but is a mistake)
📈 Odor Strength — high, recommend smelling in 10% sol.
👃🏼 Odor Profile — Warm, sweet, rooty-fruity medicinal, salicylate, wintergreen, tuberose odor with burning sensation at high concentration. As a result of the subconscious reaction in people who are regular users of candy, flavored with Methylsalicylate, or dentifrice etc., the comment “minty” is often used for description of the flavor or odor of this ester. The most reliable judges for odor description are those who are not users of the item as a flavor.
👅 Flavor Profile — Sweet, salicylate and root beer with aromatic and balsamic nuances
⚗️ Uses — It is used in low concentrations (0.04% and under) as a flavoring agent in chewing gum and mints. When mixed with sugar and dried it is a potentially entertaining source of triboluminescence, gaining the tendency to build up electrical charge when crushed or rubbed. This effect can be observed by crushing wintergreen Life Savers in a dark room.Maximum usage in leave on skin applications: 0.2900 % and are based on the assumption that the fragrance mixture is used at 20% in a consumer product (IFRA Use Level Survey).
Methyl salicylate, also known as oil of wintergreen or wintergreen oil, is an organic ester naturally produced by many species of plants, particularly wintergreens. The compound was first extracted and isolated from the plant species Gaultheria procumbens in 1843. It is also synthetically produced and widely used as a fragrance, in foods and beverages, and in liniments. Methyl salicylate forms a colorless to yellow or reddish liquid and has the characteristic odor and taste of wintergreen.
Uses of Methyl Salicylate
In Medicine
Methyl salicylate is commonly used as a rubefacient and analgesic in deep heating liniments for the treatment of acute joint and muscular pain. It is effective due to its counter-irritation properties and its ability to metabolize into salicylates, including salicylic acid, a known NSAID.
In Flavor and Fragrance Industries
The flavor industry uses methyl salicylate as a flavoring agent in chewing gums and mints in small concentrations. It is also added as an antiseptic in mouthwash solutions. Its presence is noted in various natural sources, including beverages, white wine, tea, porcini mushroom (Boletus edulis), Bourbon vanilla, clary sage, red sage, and fruits such as cherry, apple, raspberry, papaya, and plum.
In Miscellaneous Applications
Methyl salicylate has several other uses, including:
• As a bait for attracting male orchid bees for study, which gather the chemical to synthesize pheromones.
• To clear plant or animal tissue samples of color for microscopy and immunohistochemistry.
• As a transfer agent to produce manual copies of images on surfaces.
• As a stimulant or surrogate for the research of the chemical warfare agent sulfur mustard, due to its similar properties.
• For restoring the elastomeric properties of old rubber rollers, especially in printers.
• As a penetrating oil to loosen rusted parts.
Toxicity and Safety Concerns
Methyl salicylate is potentially deadly, especially in the pediatric population. A single teaspoon (5 ml) contains approximately 6 g of salicylate, equivalent to almost twenty 300 mg aspirin tablets. Toxic ingestions typically occur with doses of approximately 150 mg/kg body weight. For instance, 1 ml of oil of wintergreen can equate to 140 mg/kg of salicylates for a 10 kg child (22 lbs). The lowest published lethal dose is 101 mg/kg body weight in adult humans, making it fatal to small children in doses as small as 4 ml.
Notable Incidents
A seventeen-year-old cross-country runner at Notre Dame Academy on Staten Island died in April 2007 after her body absorbed methyl salicylate through excessive use of topical muscle-pain relief products. Most instances of human toxicity due to methyl salicylate are a result of over-application of topical analgesics, especially involving children.
Laboratory Analysis
Salicylate, the major metabolite of methyl salicylate, can be quantified in blood, plasma, or serum to confirm a diagnosis of poisoning in hospitalized patients or to assist in an autopsy.
Regulatory Limits
The maximum allowable levels of methyl salicylate are:
• In fragrance concentrates: 10.00%
• For cosmetic use: 0.1300%
Methyl salicylate, while versatile and useful in various industries, requires careful handling and awareness of its toxic potential, especially in children.
Sources:
National Center for Biotechnology Information (2020). PubChem Compound Summary for CID 4133, Methyl salicylate. Retrieved November 25, 2020 from https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Methyl-salicylate.
