Design, synthesis and antiinflammatory activity of a new indomethacin ester. 2-[N-[3-(3-(piperidinomethyl)phenoxy)propyl]carbamoylmethylthio]ethyl 1-(p-chlorobenzoyl)-5-methoxy-2-methyl-indole-3-acetate

A novel indomethacin ester prodrug, 2-[N-[3-(3-(piperidinomethyl)phenoxy)propyl]carbamoylmethylthio ]ethyl 1-(p-chlorobenzoyl)-5-methoxy-2-methylindole-3-acetate (1) was prepared from a new histamine H2-receptor antagonist, N-[3-(3-(piperidinomethyl)phenoxy)propyl]-2-(2-hydroxyethylthio )acetamide (2) and indomethacin (3). The compound 1 was shown to be essentially similar to 3 in its antiinflammatory action and to almost completely inhibit carrageenin-induced hind-paw edema in the rat at a very high dose of 230 mg/kg (280 mumol/kg), which is comparable to that of 100 mg/kg (280 mumol/kg) of 3, without producing gastric lesions. On a molar basis, the acute gastric lesioning properties of 1 were near one-hundred times less than those of 3, resulting in over a twenty-fold improvement in the ratio of antiedema activity to ulcerogenicity. The effect of the co-administration of histamine H2-receptor antagonists on antiedema activity and ulcerogenicity caused by 3 is also discussed.