Organic Compounds

It prevents the aggregation of platelets, and there is some evidence that it can prevent stroke. Aspirin , if tolerated is the preferred drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, and it has been used in treatment of osteoarthritis. Aspirin lowers fever, probably by acting on the hypothalamus. Salicylates inhibit aldose reductase in the lens; it has been suggested that they might retard the development of Reye's syndrome, an acute encephalopathy which occurs in children, who cover from viral disease. Arachidonic acid is a cyclic fatty acid which is the raw material for prostaglandins and leukotrienes. Transformation of arachidonic acid into prostaglandins requires lipoxygenase. Aspirin is known to inactive cyclooxygenase by acetylation but has no effect on lipoxygenase. It has been suggested that the inhibition of cycloxygenase by aspirin offers lipoxygenase a more than normal access to arachidonic acid and thus could induce an exaggerated production of leukotrienes. Since some leukotrienes are potent bronchoconstrictors, they have been thought to explain the violent reactions to aspirin in aspirin-sensitive patients, but some research has cast doubt on this hypothesis. Intolerance to aspirin is not uncommon. It tends to develop in middle age and involve the skin or the respiratory tract, or both. In the skin, it causes urticaria. In the respiratory tract, nasal polyps precede the development of aspirin sensitivity. Intermittent bronchial asthma might occur. .
             Citric Acid is a weak water-soluble acid found in many fruits (especially citrus fruits); used as a flavoring agent. Its structural name is hydroxytricarboxylic acid, general formula C6H8O7, with the structure shown below.
             It is available primarily as anhydrous material but also as the monohydrate. The major commercial salts are sodium and potassium with calcium, diammonium and ferric ammonium (complex) also available. Citric acid occurs in relatively large quantities in citrus fruits.