ObjectiveTo observe the effect of lappaconitine (LA) on brain water content and serum IL-I,IL-2 and TNF-α levels in rats with traumatic brain injury (TBI) as well as its cerebral protective function.MethodsA total of 24 male SD rats were involved in the study and randomly divided into control group,TBI group and TBI +LA group,with eight rats per group.The rats in the TBI group and TBI + LA group were inflicted with fluid percussion injury ( FPI ).The rats in the TBI + LA group were treated with LA (4 mg/Kg/d,ip,for 10 consecutive days).The neurological score,brain water content and serum IL-I,IL-2 and TNF -α concentrations were detected at time points including TO ( before FPI ),T1 (one day after FPI),T2 (five days after FPI) andT3 (10 days after FPI).Results At each time point after FPI,the neurological dysfunction was observed in both the TBI group and TBI + LA group.The neurological dysfunction was gradually alleviated from TI to T3 in the FPI + LA group,which showed significant lower neurological score as compared with the TBI group (P ＜0.05 or 0.01 ).The brain water content in the TBI group and TBI + LA group was significantly higher than that in the control group at each time point after FPI.Meanwhile,the water content of the TBI + LA group was significantly lower than that of the TBI group ( P ＜ 0.01 ).The serum IL-1,IL-2 and TNF-alpha concentrations in the TBI group and TBI + LA group were significantly higher than those in the control group at each time point after FPI,and the serum IL-I,IL-2 and TNF-αt concentrations of the TBI + LA group were significantly lower than those of the TBI group ( P ＜ 0.01 ).Conclusions LA exerts cerebral protective effects of TBI rats by relieving the neurological dysfunction and cerebral edema and reducing the serum IL-1,IL-2 and TNF-α concentrations.