The chemopreventive activity of the histone deacetylase inhibitor tributyrin in colon carcinogenesis involves the induction of apoptosis and reduction of DNA damage

The chemopreventive activity of the histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) tributyrin (TB), a prodrug of butyric acid (BA), was evaluated in a rat model of colon carcinogenesis. The animals were treated with TB (TB group: 200mg/100g of body weight, b.w.) or maltodextrin (MD isocaloric control group: 300mg/100g b.w.) daily for 9 consecutive weeks. In the 3rd and 4th weeks of treatment, the rats in the TB and MD groups were given DMH (40mg/kg b.w.) twice a week. After 9weeks, the animals were euthanized, and the distal colon was examined. Compared with the control group (MD group), TB treatment reduced the total number of aberrant crypt foci (ACF; p