TNF and colitis: It has been reported that prolonged administration of paeoniflorin in mice with induced colitis resulted in significant downregulation of the mRNA expression of proinflammatory mediators like MCP-1, COX2, TNF-α, and IL-6 [34–36], while paeonol exerts anti-inflammatory effect through inhibition of iNOS and COX2 expression and NF-κB activation [27, 37, 38].