Effects of calcium channel blockers on nicotine-induced hyperglycemia in the rat.

Effects of nifedipine and verapamil on nicotine-induced hyperglycemia were studied in fasted, anesthetized male rats. Blood glucose was measured using the glucose oxidase method. Nifedipine (0.05-0.20 mg/kg i.p.) significantly reduced nicotine-induced hyperglycemia in a dose-dependent manner. While lower doses (0.1.0-1.0 mg/kg i.p) of verapamil did not effect nicotine-induced hyperglycemia, higher doses 95.0-10 mg/kg i.p) of verapamil caused significant reduction but did not abolish it. Both nifedipine and verapamil had no significant effect on the basal blood glucose levels at any dose used. These results seem to suggest that the reduction in nicotine-induced hyperglycemia is related to inhibition of some of the processes by which nicotine induced hyperglycemia.