Tocopherol and tocotrienol anti-inflammatory medicaments

Abstract

Anti-inflammatory compositions include medicaments comprising predetermined amounts of a phytyl substituted chromanol and a prostaglandin E 2 inhibitor, wherein: said medicament is in unit dosage form suitable for pharmaceutical administration; said phytyl substituted chromanol is a gamma-tocopherol, delta-tocopherol, gamma-tocotrienol or delya-tocotrienol; said PGE 2 inhibitor is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug or an omega-3 fatty acid, such as docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A medicament comprising predetermined amounts of a phytyl substituted chromanol and an inhibitor of prostaglandin E 2  (PGE 2 ) formation, wherein: 
 said medicament is in unit dosage form suitable for pharmaceutical administration;    said phytyl substituted chromanol is selected from the group consisting of gamma-tocopherol, delta-tocopherol, gamma-tocotrienol and delta-tocotrienol; and    said PGE 2  inhibitor is selected from the group consisting of an omega-3 fatty acid cyclooxygenase substrate and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) cyclooxygenase inhibitor.    
     
     
         2 . The medicament of  claim 1 , wherein the medicament comprises less than 5% alpha-tocopherol.  
     
     
         3 . The medicament of  claim 1 , wherein the medicament comprises less than 0.5% alpha-tocopherol.  
     
     
         4 . The medicament of  claim 1 , wherein the medicament comprises less than 0.05% alpha-tocopherol.  
     
     
         5 . The medicament of  claim 1 , wherein the medicament comprises a mixture of gamma-tocopherol and delta-tocopherol.  
     
     
         6 . The medicament of  claim 1 , wherein the medicament comprises a mixture of gamma-tocopherol and gamma-tocotrienol.  
     
     
         7 . The medicament of  claim 1 , wherein the phytyl substituted chromanol is purified to at least 95% homogeneity.  
     
     
         8 . The medicament of  claim 1 , wherein the PGE 2  inhibitor is at a dosage that is suboptimally therapeutical when administered alone.  
     
     
         9 . The medicament of  claim 1 , wherein the PGE 2  inhibitor is at a dosage that is subtherapeutic when administered alone.  
     
     
         10 . The medicament of  claim 1 , wherein the PGE 2  inhibitor is at a dosage that is at least 50% subtherapeutic when administered alone.  
     
     
         11 . The medicament of  claim 1 , wherein the PGE 2  inhibitor is cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) selective inhibitor.  
     
     
         12 . The medicament of  claim 1 , wherein the fatty acid is selected from the group consisting of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).  
     
     
         13 . A method of inhibiting inflammation, comprising administering to a patient a medicament according to  claim 1.