3,4-Dihydroxyphenylethanol alleviates early brain injury by modulating oxidative stress and Akt and nuclear factor-κB pathways in a rat model of subarachnoid hemorrhage.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylethanol (DOPET) is a naturally occurring polyphenolic compound, present in olive oil and in the wastewater generated during olive oil processing. DOPET has various biological and pharmacological activities, including anticancer, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. This study was designed to determine whether DOPET alleviates early brain injury (EBI) associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) through suppression of oxidative stress and Akt and nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathways. Rats were randomly divided into the following groups: Sham group, SAH group, SAH + vehicle group and SAH + DOPET group. Mortality, blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability and brain water content were assessed. Oxidative stress, Akt, NF-κB p65 and caspase-3 assays were also performed. DOPET induced a reduction in brain water content, and decreased the BBB permeability of SAH model rats. Furthermore, DOPET effectively controlled oxidative stress, NF-κB p65 and caspase-3 levels, in addition to significantly increasing Akt levels in the cortex following SAH. These results provide evidence that DOPET attenuates apoptosis in a rat SAH model through modulating oxidative stress and Akt and NF-κB signaling pathways.