Novel conjugates of aspirin with phenolic acid as anti-inflammatory agents having significantly reduced gastrointestinal toxicity.

A series of novel conjugates of aspirin with natural phenolic acid antioxidants connected through a diol linker were designed and synthesized as potential bifunctional agents combining antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity for reducing gastrointestinal toxicity. In general, the conjugates were found to be efficient antioxidants and many of them demonstrated much more potent anti-inflammatory activity than aspirin. Among them, 5a and 5b which bear the best anti-inflammatory activity exhibited significantly reduced ulcerogenic potency and toxicity compared to aspirin. However, it is evident that the anti-inflammatory activity of these dual-acting molecules in vivo, was not simply consistent with their antioxidant ability in vitro.