In the present study, we found that SDE alleviates IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1 levels (Figures 6B,D), and we also found that SDE alleviates TNF-α expression (Figure 6A), which was commonly observed in DR tissues (53) These results indicate that SDE may be a potential therapeutic agent for diabetes mellitus treatment. This evidence concerns the gene IL6 and diabetes mellitus.