RESUMO
Angiotensin converting enzyme [ACE] inhibitors are well established antihypertensives. Their effect on kidney function however, seems to depend on the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the clinical symptoms. Spontaneously hypertensive rats [SHR] were used in this study. Their mean blood pressure was 186.639 +/- 1.623 mmHg. A comparative study between some angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors namely captopril, enalapril, benazepril and perindopril on liver and kidney functions was carried out. The drugs were injected twice daily for three weeks in doses equivalent to human therapeutic dosage. These doses in rats were 4.5, 1.8, 1.8, 0.36 mg/kg for captopril, enalapril, benazepril and perindopril, respectively. Histopathological examination of the kidney revealed degenerative changes in the glomeruli and both ascending and descending tubules elicited by all ACE inhibitors under investigation. These degenerative changes ranged from mild, as with perindopril and benazepril, to severe as those resulted with captopril and enalapril