TNF and type 2 diabetes mellitus: As T2DM is characterized by chronic low-grade inflammation, which triggers the release of various fibrotic mediators and promotion of cardiac fibrosis, the expression levels of proinflammatory genes, TNF-α and NF-κB, and the profibrotic gene, TGF-β, were quantified in myocardial tissue to further investigate apparent cardioprotective effects of PD extract.