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 I1/I2 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. ...