TNF and myocardial ischemia: Lower levels of inflammatory markers, namely the cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-6 and IL-β were found in rats pre-treated with berberine prior to induction of myocardial ischemia; this was believed to be mediated by downregulation of PI3K/AKT signaling thus preventing myocardial I/R injury (Zhu and Li, 2016).