In our study, we showed that metformin could significantly prevent DSS‐induced colitis and inhibit production of the inflammatory factors IL‐6, TNF‐α and IL‐1β, providing evidence that metformin can attenuate the development of inflammation in colitis, a finding consistent with those of two other studies about the colitis remission induced by metformin treatment 17, 18. The gene discussed is TNF; the disease is colitis.