Antihypertensive action of d,l-alpha-tocopheryl nicotinate in rats

The effects of d,l-alpha-tocopheryl nicotinate (EN) on model hypertension in rats were studied in comparison with d,l-alpha-tocopheryl acetate (EA). The progress of hypertension in young SHR during the 9th to 15th weeks after birth was markedly accelerated by replacing their driking water with 1% saline. The highly-developed hypertension in old SHR (9 months of age) was further advanced by salt-loading. Oral administration of 20 or 100 mg/kg of EN or 88 mg/kg of EA, once a day, delayed the progress of hypertension in young SHR and reduced advanced hypertension in old SHR. An antihypertensive effect of tocopheryl esters was also found in DOCA-salt hypertensive rats. The treatment with EN or EA definitely reduced the incidence of pathological changes accompanying model hypertension such as suppressed weight gain, pulmonary edema, myocardial fibrosis, cerebral hemorrhage and protected the animals from death. In antihypertensive effect, EN was about 5 times more active than EA in molecular base, and the effects of EN protecting from pathological changes associated with model hypertension were more definite than those of EA. The treatment with EN or EA reduced water and sodium retention in the DOCA-salt hypertensive animals. This fact may suggest the implication of a mechanism through electrolyte metabolism in the antihypertensive action of these tocopheryl esters.