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Abstract: Imidazoline derivatives have been reported to show antihyperglycemic activity in vivo. In the present study, we first showed that there was no correlation between the in vivo antidiabetic activity and the in vitro affinities for the I 1/I 2 binding sites for several substituted aryl imidazolines. Among these compounds, 2-(α-cyclohexyl-benzyl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole 2 exhibited potent antihyperglycemic properties. It was then chosen as lead compound. Thirty-six new derivatives were synthesized by replacing the cyclohexyl/benzyl group by various cyclic systems or the imidazoline ring by isosteric heterocycles. These compounds were evaluated in vivo for their antihyperglycemic activity using an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in a rat model of type-2 diabetes obtained by giving a single intravenous (iv) injection of a low dose of streptozotocin to rats (STZ rats) and in normal rats. Nine compounds with an imidazoline moiety, possibly substituted by a methyl group, had a potent effect on the glucose tolerance in normal or STZ-diabetic rats, after an oral (po) administration of the test compound at a dose of 30 or 10mgkg−1, without any hypoglycemia. Replacement of the imidazoline ring by isosteric heterocycles resulted in a total loss of activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The reaction of ethylenediamine (EDA) with ortho and/or para halogenated benzonitriles did not lead to the imidazolines expected: a competitive aromatic nucleophilic substitution (SNAr) was observed instead. The selective synthesis of these imidazolines was performed by nucleophilic addition of EDA to thiobenzamide derivatives. The difference in reactivity between the nitrile and thioamide derivatives was estimated by a frontier orbital approach at the RHF/6-31G** level which predicted a greater reactivity of substituted thiobenzamides towards the nucleophilic addition of EDA. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]