Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agent

agents that counteract or suppress inflammation and are not steroids; most have in addition analgesic, antipyretic, and platelet-inhibitory actions; they act by blocking the synthesis of prostaglandins by inhibiting cyclooxygenase, which converts arachidonic acid to cyclic endoperoxides, precursors of prostaglandins: inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis accounts for their analgesic, antipyretic, and platelet-inhibitory actions; other mechanisms may contribute to their anti-inflammatory effects.