IRAK1 and inflammation: Timosaponin AIII and its metabolite sarsapogenin have been found to inhibit intestinal inflammation by potently inhibiting NF-κB and MAPK activation, as well as interleukin-1 receptor–associated kinases (IRAK1), transforming growth factor beta–activated kinase 1 (TAK1) and NF-κB inhibitor alpha phosphorylation in lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-stimulated macrophages, and by reducing NF-κB activation and the levels of interleukin IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6, while simultaneously increasing the production of IL-10 (Lim et al., 2015).