ENALAPRIL IMPROVES GLUCOSE TOLERANCE IN TWO RAT MODELS: A NEW HYPERTENSIVE DIABETIC STRAIN AND A FRUCTOSE‐INDUCED HYPERINSULINAEMIC RAT

1. The present study was undertaken to examine the effect of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, enalapril, on blood pressure and spontaneous blood glucose levels in two rat models: our new diabetic hypertensive rat in which genetic hypertension and diabetes develop following cross‐breeding of Cohen diabetic rat (CDR) and spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR); and a rat in which hypertension, hyperinsulinaemia and hyperlipidaemia were induced by fructose diet. 2. The new strain of animal was fed the usual copper‐poor sucrose diet, and for 4 weeks received enalapril. The fructose‐induced hyperinsulinaemic animals were fed a fructose‐enriched diet for 3 weeks, and enalapril 20 mg per kg per day was added to the drinking water for 2 more weeks. 3. The new strain of diabetic‐hypertensive rats that received enalapril showed a significant decrease in blood pressure level. The fructose‐fed animals showed a fall in insulin and blood pressure following the introduction of enalapril to their diet. 4. The present study confirms the advantage of the ACE inhibitor enalapril in improving the metabolic parameters of hypertensive diabetic rats, including insulin sensitivity.