like inositol , the antiinflammatory agents of the present invention are known . for example , the merck index 10th ed ., 1983 contains a monograph concerning piroxicam ( no . 7378 ), as does the physicians &# 39 ; desk reference ( pdr ), 38th ed ., pp . 1556 - 1557 ( 1984 ). the preferred ethanolamine salt of piroxicam is specifically disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 434 , 164 . the merck index 10th ed . also contains monographs on aspirin ( no . 863 ), carprofen ( no . 1846 ), diclofenac sodium ( no . 3066 ), diflunisal ( no . 3127 ), etodolac ( no . 3822 ), feoprofen ( no . 3913 ), fentiazac ( no . 3928 ), fluriprofen ( no . 4101 ), ibuprofen ( no . 4797 ), indomethacin ( no . 4852 ), isoxicam ( no . 5085 ), ketoprofen ( no . 5142 ), melofenamic acid ( no . 5600 ; the sodium salt is named meclofenamate sodium ), naproxen ( no . 6269 ), niflumic acid ( no . 6377 ), oxaprozin ( no . 6797 ), pirprofen ( no . 7380 ), sulindac ( no . 8863 ), suprofen ( no . 8889 ), tenoxicam ( no . 8980 ) and tolmetin ( no . 9346 ). the clinical value of the present improved formulation is inhibiting gastric irritation and ulcers induced by antiinflammatory agents is reflected by appropriate animal studies . a typical experimental protocol , in which the ability of the test compound to prevent or reduce such induced gastric lesioning was determined , is found in the specific examples below . the present invention is readily carried out . the antiinflammatory agent or its salt is dosed in a mammal , particularly man , in its usual range , e . g ., piroxicam is generally dosed in the range of 0 . 1 to 1 mg / kg / day , while indomethacin is generally dosed in the range 0 . 4 - 4 mg / kg / day with the usual frequency of dosage ( e . g ., generally a single daily dose in the case of piroxicam and a divided daily dose in the case of indomethacin ). the inositol , which if desired can be dosed separately in single or multiple daily dosage , is generally dosed in the range of 0 . 06 - 40 mg / kg / day . preferably and conveniently , the antiinflammatory agent and the inositol are co - administered in a single , combined formulation . this can be in a form suitable for parenteral administration , but is preferably in a form suitable for oral administration . the proportion of each drug in the combined dosage form will be in the ratio of the total daily dosage of each drug when dosed alone , in amounts suitable for single or divided daily doses as appropriate . the combined drugs will be dosed in single or divided doses . single daily dosage will be most preferred in those cases where the in vivo half - life of the antiinflammatory agent is ( like that of piroxicam ) relatively long . in the preferred oral route of dosage , the amount of piroxicam ( or salt equivalent ) for an average adult patient will generally be in the range of 5 - 50 mg / day in combination with 20 to 2000 mg / day of inositol , an amount generally sufficient to inhibit gastrointestinal irritation or ulcers which could otherwise be induced by the piroxicam in patients susceptible to this side effect . the combined compounds are administered alone or in further combination with pharmaceutically - acceptable carriers or diluents . for oral use , suitable pharmaceutical carriers include inert diluents or fillers , thereby forming dosage forms such as tablets , powders , capsules , and the like . these pharmaceutical compositions can , if desired , contain additional ingredients such as flavorings , binders , excipients and the like . for example , tables containing various excipients , such as sodium citrate , are employed , together with various disintegrants such as starch , alginic acid and certain complex silicates , together with binding agents such as polyvinylpyrrolidone , sucrose , gelatin and acacia . additionally , lubricating agents such as magnesium stearate , sodium lauryl sulfate and talc are often useful for tabletting purposes . solid compositions of a similar type may also be employed as fillers in soft and hard filled gelatin capsules . preferred materials therefor include lactose or milk sugar and high molecular weight polyethylene glycols . the present invention is illustrated by the following examples . however , it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details of these examples . adult male &# 34 ; specific pathogen free &# 34 ; rats weighing 140 - 160 grams of the cd strain ( sprague - dawley ) were obtained from charles river breeding laboratories ( kingston , n . y .). the animals were acclimated for approximately one week and tested when they reached a body weight of 200 - 225 grams . the rats were fasted for 16 hours and randomized into groups consisting of 8 to 20 animals which were normalized with regard to their average body weight . gastric ulcers were induced in the animals by orally dosing them with a single 120 mg / kg dose of piroxicam ( ethanolamine salt ) in 2 ml . of aqueous 0 . 1 % methylcellulose ( ph = 6 . 8 ). those animals receiving a second medicinal agent separately received the second drug in an additional 2 ml . of the same medium at about the same time . six and one - half hours later , the animals were sacrificed by cervical dislocation and autopsied . the stomachs were surgically removed , dissected along the greater curvature and rinsed with cold water . the stomachs were individually scored for both linear and punctate lesions . the total number of lesions was used for scoring purposes . the data obtained from each group of rats were analyzed after calculation of the mean number +/- the standard error of total gastric lesions . the values obtained were also compared to the controls which received only piroxicam by the two - tailed student &# 39 ; s t - test for nonpaired data . the protective effect of inositol against piroxicam - induced ulcers is shown in table i . these data show that inositol significantly reduces piroxicam - induced gastric lesions in the healthy fasted rat . table i______________________________________protective effect of inositol on gastriclesions induced by the ethanolamine saltsalt of piroxicam signifi - form of oral dose no . of rats lesions / rat cancevitamin b . sub . 6 ( mg / kg ) in group (. sup .-- x +/- se ). sup . b p & lt ; 0 . 05 . sup . c______________________________________ ( control ). sup . a 0 30 7 . 5 ( 0 . 8 ) inositol . sup . a , d 10 40 4 . 7 ( 0 . 9 ) + 33 40 5 . 2 ( 0 . 7 ) + 100 40 3 . 6 ( 0 . 6 ) + 333 40 3 . 0 ( 0 . 8 ) + ______________________________________ . sup . a all animals , including controls , received 120 mg / kg of the ethanolamine salt of piroxicam . . sup . b represents the mean value . sup .-- x +/- the standard error ( se ). . sup . c as determined by the student &# 39 ; s two tailed ttest for nonpaired data . sup . d as calculated by linear regression analysis , an ed . sub . 50 ( dose of inositol required to inhibit 50 % of control gastric lesion ) of 85 mg / kg was determined . ______________________________________piroxicam ( milled ) 20inositol ( milled ) 1000calcium carbonate 250polyethylene glycol , average 430molecular weight , 4000______________________________________ the mixture is thoroughly blended so as to obtain a uniform powder . soft gelatin capsules containing 20 mg . of piroxicam and 1000 mg . of inositol are prepared by filling suitably sized capsules with 1700 mg of the blend . to make hard gelatin filled capsules , the amount of inert ingredients is adjusted so as to conveniently fill standard sized gelatin capsules containing the desired amount of each active component . ______________________________________piroxicam ethanolamine 11 . 84 ( equivalentsalt ( milled ) to 10 as free acid ) inositol ( milled ) 500corn starch 484 . 16magnesium stearate 4______________________________________ the mixture is thoroughly blended so as to form a uniform powder . the resultant mix is filled into appropriately sized hard gelatin capsules ( fill weight 1000 mg ) so as to obtain capsules containing the desired potency of each active ingredient . the mixture is thoroughly blended so as to obtain a uniform powder . the resultant mix ( 800 mg fill weight ) is filled into hard gelatin capsules of a suitable size so as to obtain capsules of the desired potency . ______________________________________indomethacin ( milled ) 20inositol ( milled ) 20lactose 183hydroxypropyl methylcellulose 3sodium starch glycollate 15magnesium stearate 4______________________________________ the mixture is thoroughly blended to form a uniform powder . measured volumes of the powder , corresponding to 250 mg by weight , are compressed into tablets containing the desired potency of each active ingredient . ______________________________________piroxicam ethanolamine salt 11 . 84 ( equivalent ( milled ) to 10 of free base ) inositol 25lactose 238 . 16hydroxypropyl methylcellulose 4sodium starch glycollate 16magnesium stearate 5______________________________________ the mixture is throughly blended to form a uniform powder . the powder , in measured volumes corresponding to 300 mg . by weight , is compressed into tablets containing the desired potency of each active ingredient . ______________________________________piroxicam 20inositol 50lactose 250hydroxypropyl methyl - 4cellulosesodium starch glycollate 16magnesium stearate 5______________________________________ the mixture is blended to a uniform powder and compressed into tablets in measured volumes corresponding to 345 mg by weight to yield tablets of the desired potency in each drug .