Effect of lavender oil ( Lavandula angustifolia ) on cerebral edema and its possible mechanisms in an experimental model of stroke

• Published in: Brain research 2014-02, Vol.1548, p.56-62
• Main Authors: Vakili, Abedin, Sharifat, Shaghayegh, Akhavan, Maziar Mohammad, Bandegi, Ahmad Reza
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Antioxidant; Antioxidants - metabolism; Apoptosis; Bcl-2 and Bax; bcl-2-Associated X Protein - metabolism; Behavior, Animal - drug effects; Biological and medical sciences; Brain edema; Brain Edema - drug therapy; Brain Edema - etiology; Brain Edema - metabolism; Cerebral Cortex - blood supply; Cerebral Cortex - drug effects; Cerebral Cortex - pathology; Disease Models, Animal; Focal cerebral ischemia; Headache. Facial pains. Syncopes. Epilepsia. Intracranial hypertension. Brain oedema. Cerebral palsy; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery - complications; Laser-Doppler Flowmetry; Lavender oil; Male; Medical sciences; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neurology; Neuroprotective Agents - therapeutic use; Oils, Volatile - therapeutic use; Oxidative stress; Plant Oils - therapeutic use; Rat; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Stroke - drug therapy; Stroke - etiology; Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A - metabolism; VEGF
• ISSN: 0006-8993; 1872-6240
• DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2013.12.019

Abstract Lavender belongs to the family Labiatae and has a variety of cosmetic uses as well as therapeutic purposes in herbal medicine. The present study was conducted to evaluate the protective effect of lavender oil against brain edema and its possible mechanisms in an experimental model of stroke. Under Laser-Doppler Flowmetry, focal cerebral ischemia was induced by the transient occlusion of the middle cerebral artery for 1 h in rats. Lavender oil (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg ip (and/or vehicle was injected at the onset of ischemia. Infarct size, cerebral edema, functional outcome, and oxidative stress biomarkers were evaluated using standard methods. Western blotting was used to determine the protein expression of VEGF, Bax, and Bcl-2. Treatment with lavender oil at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg significantly diminished infarct size, brain edema, and improved functional outcome after cerebral ischemia ( P