EFFECT OF CHRONIC LOSARTAN POTASSIUM TREATMENT ON FRUCTOSE-INDUCED HYPERTENSION

Carbohydrate enriched diets have been shown to elevate blood pressure in the rat. The precise mechanism by which carbohydrate feeding elevat es blood pressure is not known. We evaluated the role of the renin-ang iotensin system in the etiology of fructose-induced hypertension. Losa rtan potassium, an angiotensin II (ATI) Type 1 (AT(1)) receptor antago nist, was utilized to assess the blood pressure response to fructose t reatment. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 3 groups. Rats in the control group were fed regular chow. The other two groups were fe d 60% fructose diet for 4 weeks. One of these groups was chronically t reated with losartan potassium in drinking water. Throughout the study there was no significant difference in body weight between the three groups. There was a significant increase in blood pressure of fructose -treated rats within one week of treatment which remained elevated for the remainder of the study. Chronic losartan treatment significantly attenuated the rise in blood pressure. Within two weeks both the dipso genic response and the presser response to AII demonstrated complete b lockage of AII receptors. These results suggest that the renin-angiote nsin; system plays a role in the development of fructose-induced hyper tension.