Enalapril, sold under the brand name Vasotec among others, is an ACE inhibitor medication used to treat high blood pressure, diabetic kidney disease, and heart failure. For heart failure, it is generally used with a diuretic, such as furosemide. It is given by mouth or by injection into a vein. Onset of effects are typically within an hour when taken by mouth and last for up to a day.Common side effects include headache, tiredness, feeling lightheaded with standing, and cough. Serious side effects include angioedema and low blood pressure. Use during pregnancy is believed to result in harm to the baby. It is in the angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitor family of medications.Enalapril was patented in 1978, and came into medical use in 1984. It is on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. In 2019, it was the 137th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 4 million prescriptions. As of August 2021, enalapril is available as a generic medicine in the US. Structure Activity Relationship
Enalapril has an L-proline moiety as a part of the molecule which is responsible for the oral bioavailability of the drug. It is a pro-drug, which means that it exerts its function after being metabolized. The "-OCH2CH3" part of the molecule will split during the metabolism and at the carbon will be a carboxylate, which then interacts with the Zn+2 site of the ACE Enzyme.
Enalaprilat, however, had a problem of its own in that it had poor oral availability. This was overcome by the researchers at Merck by the esterification of enalaprilat with ethanol to produce enalapril. : 13 Merck introduced enalapril to market in 1981; it became Mercks first billion dollar-selling drug in 1988.: 13  The patent expired in 2000, opening the way for generics. References
External links
"Enalapril". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine.