The effect of Lisinopril on blood glucose level given alone and in combination with oral anti-diabetic drugs in alloxan-induced diabetic rats

Abstract

Background: In diabetic patients, ACE (Angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitors prevent the development and progression of incipient or established nephropathy and delay the progression of diabetic retinopathy hence these drugs are routinely prescribed with oral anti-diabetic drugs in these conditions. The picture of actual impact of ACE inhibitors on blood glucose is controversial and still not clear. This study therefore aimed to evaluate the effect of Lisinopril on blood glucose level and the interaction with the oral anti-diabetic drugs metformin, gliclazide and pioglitazone in alloxan induced diabetic rats.

Method: Rats were classified into ten groups (n = 6). The Group I –II were normal and Group III –X were diabetic. The Lisinopril at the dose of 3.6 mg/kg body weight was administered to the normal and diabetic rats. In diabetic groups, the Lisinopril was also given with the oral anti-diabetic drugs to assess any alteration in blood glucose level. All drugs administered orally once a day for 13 days and at the end of the experimentation Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) was conducted.

Results: It was observed that in normal rats the Lisinopril slightly reduced the blood glucose level at all time points which was significant only at 30 and 120 min time points (P≤0.05) but in alloxan-induced diabetic rats Lisinopril exhibited significant anti-hyperglycemic activity at all time points (P≤0.01) when given alone and even more significantly when given with the oral anti-diabetic drugs (P≤0.001).

Conclusion: The present study has showed that the Lisinopril has significant anti-hyperglycemic activities and also enhances the effect of oral anti-diabetic drugs in diabetic animal.

Keywords: ACE inhibitor, Lisinopril, Blood glucose, Alloxan-induced diabetic rats, Oral anti-diabetic drugs