TNF and diabetes mellitus: We found that consecutive intrathecal administration of puerarin to rats inhibited the mechanical and thermal nociceptive response induced by CCI and diabetes, which might acted through inhibiting the activation of microglia and astroglia in the spinal dorsal horn and reducing the upregulated levels of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and proinflammatory cytokines including IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α, in the spinal cord.