Radiotherapy for malignant tumors of the head and neck commonly leads to radiation-induced sialadenitis as a result of radiation-induced salivary gland dysfunction. We demonstrated previously that phenylephrine could protect the irradiated submandibular gland against apoptosis, although the mechanism is unclear. In this study, we investigated the influence of phenylephrine pretreatment on the expressions of aquaporin 5 (AQP5) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) that were presumed to have a role in radiation-induced salivary gland dysfunction. Rats pretreated with phenylephrine (5 mg/kg) were locally irradiated (20 Gy) in the head and neck region. The submandibular glands were removed on day 7 after irradiation. The expression of AQP5 and activation of JNK were measured by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. The localization of AQP5 at the apical and lateral plasma membrane of acinar cells was significantly reduced by irradiation, but markedly enhanced with phenylephrine pretreatment. The protein expression of AQP5 was decreased by 84.91% in irradiated glands, whereas it was fully recovered to the control level in phenylephrine-pretreated glands. Moreover, many acinar, ductal and granular convoluted tubular cells in the irradiated glands exhibited intense immunoreactivity for p-JNK, while in the phenylephrine-pretreated irradiated glands, only a few acinar cells exhibited very faint immunoreactivity for p-JNK. The protein expression level of p-JNK was increased by 41.65% in the irradiated alone glands, but was significantly decreased in the phenylephrine-pretreated irradiated glands. These results suggest that the protective mechanism of phenylephrine might be related to the improved expression of AQP5 and decreased activation of JNK. Pretreatment with phenylephrine in patients undergoing radiotherapy may provide a helpful strategy for suppression of radiation-induced sialadenitis.