• Brady DM

• Catechin / therapeutic use
• Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors / adverse effects
• Flavocoxid
• Plant Preparations / therapeutic use

There is great concern in the medical community over the excessive use of non-steroidal (NSAID), including COX-2 inhibitors, and steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, as well as narcotic pain relievers, due to potentially serious side- effects and dependency. In fact, patients generally use significant doses of these as prescription drugs on a chronic or ongoing episodic basis thereby resulting in long-term side effect risks particularly among the elderly. There are emerging highly standardized and evidence-based natural agents that effectively modulate the same enzyme pathways as anti-inflammatory medications with much lower side-effect profiles. One such extract with strong supporting human outcome studies, flavo- coxid, will be discussed in this article with emphasis on its safety profile and balanced action across a multitude of inflammatory pathways.

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