Nitric oxide (NO) is a potent inhibitor of platelet aggregation upon platelet activation by various agonists.Many drugs may influence platelet function both via the L-Arg/NO and the AA/COX-1 pathway.Acetyl group donors, acetoxy drugs, such as DAMC (7,8-diacetoxy-4-methylcoumarin), have recently been reported to activate human platelet NOS via calreticulin transacetylase.Acetylsalicylic acid (O-acetylsalicylic acid, ASA) is well-known to inhibit irreversibly COX-1 activity by O-acetylating a certain serine moiety of the catalytic site of the enzyme.We, therefore, tested three ASA derivatives (O-acetylsalicylic acid cysteine ethylester (ASA-CysEt), di-O-acetylsalicylic acid cysteine Et ester (di-ASA-CysEt) and guaimesal) for an inhibitory action on the activity of a recombinant bovine COX-1 and of endogenous COX-1 in human platelets.ASA-CysEt and di-ASA-CysEt inhibited the activity of recombinant bovine COX-1 albeit to a different degree.Guaimesal was found to be as potent as ASA in inhibiting aggregation and thromboxane synthesis in human platelets.