Aspirin (Acetylsalicylic Acid; ASA)

Description: Aspirin (Acetylsalicylic acid; ASA; Acetylin; Claradin), a widely used analgesic and a salicylate analog, is a non-selective and covalent/irreversible inhibitor of COX1 and COX2 enzymes with a broad range of biological activities such as anti-inflammatory and pain relieving effects. It has been used to relieve minor aches and pains as an analgesic agent, to reduce fever as an antipyretic agent, and to treat inflammation conditions as an anti-inflammatory drug. Aspirin also shows potent anti-proliferative activity in vitro against many cancer cell lines such as ovarian cell harboring COX-1 by acting as histone deacetylase inhibitors to upregulate the cell cycle arrest protein p21.

References: Science. 1994 Aug 12; 265(5174):956-9; Nature. 1998 Nov 5; 396(6706):77-80.