(+)-Borneol exerts neuroprotective effects via suppressing the NF-κB pathway in the pilocarpine-induced epileptogenesis rat model

Neuroinflammation plays a crucial role in the development of epilepsy, and suppressing neuroinflammation can delay epileptogenesis. Recent reports have demonstrated that (+)-borneol has neuroprotective effects in several brain disorders by reducing neuroinflammation. However, its effects on epilepsy have not been reported. In this research, we first studied the effect of different doses of (+)-borneol (3, 6, and 12 mg/kg) on neuroinflammation in a pilocarpine model of epileptogenesis by detecting IL-1β, TNF-α, and COX-2 expression. We demonstrated that different doses of (+)-borneol decreased IL-1β, TNF-α, and COX-2 levels, with 12 mg/kg having the most substantial effect. Furthermore, we examined the effects of 12 mg/kg (+)-borneol on neuronal damage, glial cell activation, and apoptosis in the hippocampus at different time points (1, 3, and 7 days) after SE. We found that (+)-borneol significantly ameliorated neuronal injury, decreased glial cell activation, and attenuated apoptosis. We also found that (+)-borneol inhibited the NF-κB pathway activation induced by SE. In conclusion, our results indicated that (+)-borneol reduces neuroinflammation by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway activation, exerts neuroprotective effects, and may have an inhibitory effect in epileptogenesis.