Methyl Salicylate

Summary

Methyl Salicylate (CHEMBL108545) is an approved small-molecule insect attractant targeting TRPA1; indicated across 10 conditions including arthritic joint disease and frozen shoulder.

At a glance

• Status: Approved (max clinical phase 4)
• Modality: Small molecule
• Targets: 1 (TRPA1)
• Indications: 10 conditions
• Clinical trials: 3
• Chemistry: 152.15 Da · C8H8O3

Identifiers

Drug identity and classification

Field	Value
ChEMBL ID	CHEMBL108545
Name	Methyl Salicylate
Type	Small molecule
Max phase	4
FDA approved	yes
PubChem CID	4133
ChEBI	CHEBI:31832
Molecular formula	C8H8O3
Molecular weight	152.15
InChIKey	OSWPMRLSEDHDFF-UHFFFAOYSA-N

SMILES: COC(=O)C1=CC=CC=C1O

IUPAC name: methyl 2-hydroxybenzoate

ChEBI definition: A benzoate ester that is the methyl ester of salicylic acid.

Pharmacological roles (ChEBI): insect attractant.

Other ChEBI roles (chemical / environmental): flavouring agent, metabolite.

Also known as: Aspellin, Balmosa, Bengue’s balsam, Deep heat, Dubam, Fema no. 2154, FEMA NO. 2745, Fema no. 3113, Flavor, wintergreen, Gppe lin, Gppe rub

Patent coverage: 47,692 distinct patent families (125,516 SureChEMBL compound mentions), from 2 matched compound structure(s). One matched structure accounts for 125,374 (100%) of the total. Mentions count patents naming the compound (not distinct inventions), so promiscuous / reference molecules inflate the mention figure — families are the dedup metric.

Targets

Targets

Primary targets (GtoPdb curated mechanism): the Cancer dependency column is the DepMap CRISPR fitness signal (% of screened cell lines dependent on the target).

Gene	Target	Action	pAffinity	Cancer dependency	UniProt
TRPA1	TRPA1	Agonist		0.1%	O75762

Broader ChEMBL bioactivity targets: 2 (assay-derived). Sample: Prelamin-A/C, Thyrotropin receptor.

Bioactivity

ChEMBL activities: 3 potent at pChembl ≥ 5 of 3 total. Top 100 by potency (10 = 0.1 nM, 6 = 1 µM):

Target	pChembl	Type	Value	Unit	Activity ID
LMNA	6.1	Potency	794.3	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_3650390
TSHR	5.4	Potency	3981	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_3911567
TSHR	5.4	Potency	3981	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_4710860

Target pathways

Aggregated over 1 target gene(s): TRPA1.

Top Reactome pathways

1 total, by targets touching each:

Pathway	Targets	Genes
TRP channels	1	TRPA1

Dominant GO biological processes

GO term	Targets
monoatomic ion transport	1
intracellular calcium ion homeostasis	1
cell surface receptor signaling pathway	1
response to cold	1
response to xenobiotic stimulus	1
urinary bladder smooth muscle contraction	1
sensory perception of pain	1
cellular response to heat	1
positive regulation of insulin secretion involved in cellular response to glucose stimulus	1
response to pain	1
thermoception	1
detection of mechanical stimulus involved in sensory perception of pain	1
detection of chemical stimulus involved in sensory perception of pain	1
protein homotetramerization	1
cellular response to hydrogen peroxide	1

Indications & clinical

Indications

4 approved indications. FDA phase 4, plus an anticancer drug’s labelled cancer uses (which ChEMBL often logs at phase 3).

Indication	Phase	MONDO	EFO
arthritic joint disease	4	MONDO:0005578	EFO:0005856
frozen shoulder	4	MONDO:0006763	EFO:1000941
disease of the tendon	4	MONDO:0100010	EFO:1001434
injury	4	MONDO:0021178	EFO:0000546

6 further indication records had no mapped disease name (EFO/MeSH-only) or were duplicates, and are omitted.

Clinical trials

Total trials: 3.

Phase distribution

Phase	Trials
Not specified	2
PHASE1	1

Top trials by phase / activity

NCT	Phase	Status	Title
NCT02666846	PHASE1	COMPLETED	Assess the Efficacy and Safety in Volunteers of DCF100, TIB200 and SPR300 vs. Placebo and Control(s) in a UV Pain Model
NCT02447068	Not specified	UNKNOWN	Luma Light System Proof of Concept Study in Subjects With Mild to Moderate Psoriasis
NCT02611622	Not specified	COMPLETED	LumaENT and Patient Satisfaction

Clinical evidence (CIViC)

No CIViC predictive evidence (expected for non-precision-medicine drugs).

Pharmacology

Pharmacogenomics

No PharmGKB pharmacogenomic data curated for this drug.

Related molecules

Related molecules

Molecules sharing ≥1 of this drug’s curated primary targets, merged from two biobtree sources and ranked by shared-target count, then clinical phase: ChEMBL clinical-stage candidates (development phase ≥2) and PubChem drug-class bioactivity (approved / known drugs acting on the target). Deduplicated by drug name; the drug’s own salt forms are excluded. Note: for a drug with few primary targets a shared-target match can reflect off-target / promiscuous binding rather than the same therapeutic mechanism — the phase ordering surfaces bona-fide therapeutics first.

27 molecules share ≥1 primary target. Top 27 by shared-target count:

Molecule	Source	Status	Shared targets
DICLOFENAC	ChEMBL + PubChem	Phase 4 (approved)	TRPA1
DISULFIRAM	ChEMBL + PubChem	Phase 4 (approved)	TRPA1
MEFENAMIC ACID	ChEMBL + PubChem	Phase 4 (approved)	TRPA1
MENTHOL	ChEMBL	Phase 4 (approved)	TRPA1
NICOTINE	ChEMBL	Phase 4 (approved)	TRPA1
RESVERATROL	ChEMBL + PubChem	Phase 3 (approved)	TRPA1
CANNABINOL	ChEMBL	Phase 3	TRPA1
ICILLIN	ChEMBL	Phase 3	TRPA1
LEVOMENTHOL	ChEMBL	Phase 3	TRPA1
ALLICIN	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
CANNABIDIVARIN	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
CANNABIGEROL	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
CARVACROL	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
CHLORDANTOIN	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
FLUFENAMIC ACID	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
RG6341	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
SALIRASIB	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
SANGUINARIUM	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
TETRAHYDROCANNABIVARIN	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
THYMOL	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
Acetaldehyde	PubChem	Approved	TRPA1
Caffeine	PubChem	Approved	TRPA1
camphor (synthetic)	PubChem	Approved	TRPA1
dronabinol	PubChem	Approved	TRPA1
Eugenol	PubChem	Approved	TRPA1
menthol, unspecified form	PubChem	Approved	TRPA1
Propylene Glycol	PubChem	Approved	TRPA1