THE HYPE OF METHYL SALICYLATE 
Walk into your local drugstore and peruse the aisles near the pharmacy. Youre bound to find products like icy hot, bengay, perhaps even a bruise liniment claiming to have methyl salicylate as a primary active ingredient. In the Western world, molecules like "methyl salicylate" are being used often. Pick up a bottle of aspirin and notice the active ingredient is acetylsalicylic acid. Very similar chemicals...OK great, right? Now, why does any of this have to do with TCM and herbs?
A variety of plants exist that are referred to as wintergreens. These class of plants, numerous in number, produce an essential oil called "
Oil of Wintergreen". This oil is used as an anti-inflammitory, internally and externally. Great a cool herbal oil, what does this have to do with methyl salicylate?
Salicylic acid, a naturally occuring substance as a plant hormone, and created in the lab synthetically, is often times used to treat acne because of its ability to keep pores from clogging up. It is also used industirally in a variety of other things such as toothpaste because of its antiseptic nature. Salicylic acid can be combined with a variety of types of alcohols to form derivative esters (essentially a modified organic compound). When combined with methanol, salicylic acid forms
Methyl Salicylate, our precious Oil of Wintergreen. Furthermore, Salicylic acid can be combined with acetic anhydride to produce Aspriin, which as we all know is anti-inflammitory and anelgesic.
The production of Oil of Wintergreen happens naturally as some plants naturally convert this substance into Oil of Wintergreen. It also takes place in the lab using phenol and carbon dioxide to produce the acid, and then reacted with methanol to make synthetic oil of wintergreen.
Oil of wintergreen is available from a variety of online stores and is one of several ingredients in effective oil-based products.