Fig. 6: Pentanoate prevents colitis-associated anemia and intestinal inflammation.

a Schematic of the experiments used to evaluate sodium pentanoate in DSS-induced colitis. Briefly, six-week-old C57BL/6 mice were treated with sodium pentanoate (200 mM) via their drinking water for 3 weeks and then further administered DSS (4%) for seven days. b Seven days after DSS treatment, erythroid parameters, including the red blood cell counts and hematocrit and hemoglobin levels were determined with a hematology analyzer (ProCyteDx). Statistical significance was determined by one-way ANOVA (^*p < 0.05, ^****p < 0.0001, n = 26 mice examined over three independent experiments). Data are presented as the mean ± SEM. c as in (b), serum iron levels were determined by ICP-MS (iCAP RQ, Thermo Fisher). For ICP-MS detection, n = 6 mice examined over two independent experiments. d–g The lengths d, e and hematoxylin and eosin staining f, g of colons on days 7 and 15 after DSS challenge were shown. Scale bars represent 200 μm. Data are from three independent experiments (e, n = 14 and 13 mice for 7 days after mock and pentanoate treatment respectively; n = 9 and 10 mice for 15 days after mock and pentanoate treatment respectively; g, n = 4 mice per group). c, e, g Statistical significance was determined by two-tailed Student’s t test. ^*p < 0.05, ^**p < 0.01,^***p < 0.001, ^****p < 0.0001. Data shown are mean ± SD.