TNF and rheumatoid arthritis: In an, in vitro model of rheumatoid arthritis, Vaillancourt et al. (2011) illustrated that Thymoquinone significantly decreases lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -induced proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin1beta (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13), COX-2, and prostaglandin E2.