Relation between ulcerogenic activity of various NSAID and their potency as inhibitors of prostaglandin synthesis in vivo.

A series of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) and a few other agents were evaluated for their ability to: 1) reduce the acute toxicity of intravenously injected arachidonic acid (AA) in mice; 2) prevent castor oil-induced diarrhoea in mice; 3) enhance the formation of gastric mucosal erosions by a water stress in rats. A correlation between the activity in the three tests has been found for most NSAID studied, and the results point to inhibition of cyclooxygenase as a common mechanism of action.