Abstract

For management of pain, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) play a major role. Use of NSAIDs is associated with toxicity, particularly in the gastrointestinal tract and kidney, whereas the use of COX-2 selective NSAIDs is associated with renal failure. Various approaches such as management of COX-1/COX-2 and 5-LOX/COX-2 inhibitors, use of natural products, formulation, drug modification and synthesis of new chemical entities in search of safer anti-inflammatory drugs reported in literature to overcome serious side effects of NSAIDs is summarized in this review. We have also reported recent findings in the area of synthesis of heterocyclic compounds such as pyrimidine, pyridine, thiazole, triazole, imidazole, oxazole, isooxazole, pyrazole , pyrazolidine, pyrole, acridine derivatives and other related heterocyclic compounds and their role as non-selective, COX-2 selective, LOX selective and COX/LOX dual, inhibitors.

Keywords: Heterocyclic compounds, anti-inflammatory agents, non-steroidal