Carvacrol alleviates cerebral edema by modulating AQP4 expression after intracerebral hemorrhage in mice

Abstract Carvacrol is a natural compound extracted from many plants of the family Lamiaceae. Previous studies have demonstrated that carvacrol has potential neuroprotective effects in central nervous system diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and cerebral ischemia. In this study, we investigated the preclinical effect of carvacrol on cerebral edema after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) using a bacterial collagenase-induced ICH mouse model. Mice were randomly divided into sham ( n  = 43), vehicle-treated ( n  = 51), and carvacrol-treated groups ( n  = 101). In carvacrol-treated group, carvacrol was administrated to mice at 0 h, 1 h, or 3 h after ICH induction. Carvacrol was injected intraperitoneally with single doses of 10, 25, 50, or 100 mg/kg. Neurologic dysfunctions, brain water content, aquaporins (AQPs) mRNAs level and AQP4 protein expression in the perihematomal area were evaluated post ICH. Our results showed that carvacrol administration improved neurological deficits after day 3 following ICH ( p p p