Cyclooxygenase (COX-1/COX-2)-catalyzed eicosanoid formation plays a key role in inflammation-associated diseases. Natural forms of vitamin E are recently shown to be metabolized to long-chain carboxychromanols and their sulfated counterparts. Here we find that vitamin E forms differentially inhibit COX-2-catalyzed prostaglandin E 2 in IL-1-stimulated A549 cells without affecting COX-2 expression, showing the relative potency of ␥-tocotrienol Ϸ ␦-tocopherol > ␥-tocopherol Ͼ Ͼ ␣-or -tocopherol. The cellular inhibition is partially diminished by sesamin, which blocks the metabolism of vitamin E, suggesting that their metabolites may be inhibitory. Consistently, conditioned media enriched with long-chain carboxychromanols, but not their sulfated counterparts or vitamin E, reduce COX-2 activity in COX-preinduced cells with 5 M arachidonic acid as substrate. Under this condition, 9-or 13-carboxychromanol, the vitamin E metabolites that contain a chromanol linked with a 9-or 13-carbon-length carboxylated side chain, inhibits COX-2 with an IC 50 of 6 or 4 M, respectively. But 13-carboxychromanol inhibits purified COX-1 and COX-2 much more potently than shorter side-chain analogs or vitamin E forms by competitively inhibiting their cyclooxygenase activity with K i of 3.9 and 10.7 M, respectively, without affecting the peroxidase activity. Computer simulation consistently indicates that 13-carboxychromanol binds more strongly than 9-carboxychromanol to the substrate-binding site of COX-1. Therefore, long-chain carboxychromanols, including 13-carboxychromanol, are novel cyclooxygenase inhibitors, may serve as anti-inflammation and anticancer agents, and may contribute to the beneficial effects of certain forms of vitamin E.cancer ͉ inflammation ͉ PGE2 ͉ tocopherol ͉ tocotrienol C yclooxygenases (COX-1 and COX-2) catalyze the conversion of arachidonic acid (AA) to prostaglandin H 2 (PGH 2 ), the common precursor to prostaglandins and thromboxanes that are important lipid mediators for regulation of many physiological and pathophysiological responses (1). COXs are bifunctional enzymes that carry out two sequential activities-i.e., the cyclooxygenase activity, which leads to the formation of prostaglandin G 2 (PGG 2 ), and the peroxidase activity, which reduces PGG 2 to PGH 2 (2). COX-1 is constitutively expressed in many tissues, including platelets where thromboxanes are generated by this enzyme to promote platelet aggregation. COX-2 is often induced under acute/chronic inflammatory conditions and is mainly responsible for the generation of proinflammatory eicosanoids, including prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) (3). COX inhibitors, which are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), have been used for the relief of fever, pain, and inflammation (4). Chronic inflammation has been identified as a significant factor in the development of cancer (5). It is well established that NSAIDs are effective chemoprevention agents for cancer (6), although their long-term use has been questioned due to the associated gastrointestinal sid...