TNF and infectious otitis media: The results reveal that AOM significantly enhances the inflammatory response and 6-gingerol potentially attenuates this response, estimated by markers including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (1346 ± 67 vs. 1023 ± 58 pg/g), C-reactive protein (CRP) (1.12 ± 0.08 vs. 0.92 ± 0.7 ng/ml) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) (945 ± 67 vs. 653 ± 33 pg/g).