Synthesis of new nicotinic acid derivatives and their evaluation as analgesic and anti-inflammatory agents.

A series of 2-substituted phenyl derivatives of nicotinic acid 4a-l were synthesized and evaluated for their analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. Compounds including 2-bromophenyl substituent, 4a, c, and d, proved to display distinctive analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities in comparison to mefenamic acid as a reference drug. Compound 4c could be identified as the most biologically active member within this study with an interesting dual anti-inflammatory analgesic profile. Effect of the compounds 4a-l on the serum level of certain inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 was also determined.