Heart metabolic modifications induced by nifedipine treatment in normo- and hypertensive Wistar rats

Male Wistar rats weighing 150 +/- 10 g at the beginning of the experiment were used. The animals were divided in to four groups: control group (C); Hypertensive group (H) (Hypertension induced by subcutaneously injecting desoxycorticosterone acetate: 14 mg/kg b. w./day and intragastric tubage administration of 30% sodium chloride: 3 g NaCl/kg b. w./day for 4 weeks); normotensive group receiving Nifedipine (N) (0.5 mg/Kg b. w./day); hypertensive group receiving Nifedipine (HN) (hypertension was induced as in group H and Nifedipine dose was as in group N). We observed that hypertensive status as well as Nifedipine treatment caused an increase of preference of rat heart muscle to utilize its glycogen as carbohydrate energy source instead of added glucose to incubation medium.