A review on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDS)
S. K. Mandal
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Dr. B. C. Roy College of Pharmacy
& AHS, Durgapur- 713206, India.
Corresponding author:
Mr. S. K. Mandal, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Chemistry,
Dr. B. C. Roy College of Pharmacy & AHS, Durgapur- 713206, India.
E-mail: gotosudip@rediffmail.com, Tel.: +918670192100
ABSTRACT
NSAIDs constitute an important class of drugs with therapeutic applications
that have spanned several centuries. Treatment of inflammatory conditions
such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) starting from the
classic drug aspirin to the recent rise and fall of selective COX-2
inhibitors has provided an enthralling evolution. This review traces the
origins of NSAIDs, their mechanism of action at the molecular level such as
cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibition, inflammatory Process, biosynthesis of
prostanoids, COX isoforms, their structure, function and comparison,
development of selective COX-2 inhibitors, adverse gastrointestinal effects
of NSAIDs. The presence of COX-3 is discussed. A little
history of the market withdrawal of selective COX-2 inhibitors is
explained. The last section describes briefly some of the
recent advances toward developing effective anti-inflammatory agents such
as nitric oxide donor NO-NSAIDs, dual COX/LOX inhibitors and Hydrogen
sulfide (H2S) Containing NSAIDs. In spite of the tremendous
advances in the last decade, the design and development of a safe,
effective and economical therapy for treating inflammatory conditions still
presents a major challenge.
Keywords:
Nonsteroidal, Inflammation, Prostaglandin Cyclooxygenase, Lipoxygenases.