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Changes in biochemical proxy indicators for nutritional stress resilience from Boran and Nguni cows reared in dry arid rangeland

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the changes in biochemical indicators for nutritional stress from a herd of Boran and Nguni cows. A total of 40 cows (20 from each herd) were randomly selected for the study. The animals were identified according to their parities as follows: parity 1 (n = 8), parity 2 (n = 16), parity 3 (n = 8) and parity 4 (n = 8). Serum chemistry levels of glucose, total cholesterol, urea, creatinine, albumin, globulin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma glutylaminotransferase (GGT), leukocytes, erythrocytes, haemoglobin, packed cell volume (PCV) and platelet counts were determined for 12 consecutive months spanning across the wet and dry seasons. The Boran cows had different creatinine concentration levels at different parities. The Boran cows in parity 1 had the highest (P < 0.05) concentration of creatinine 87.2 ± 5.17 μmol/L than other cows in different parities within the herd. There were significant differences in enzymes such as AST, ALP and ALT among the herd and parities. Boran cows in parity 3 had the lowest (P < 0.05) AST concentration levels of 52.6 ± 3.48 U/L, Nguni cows in parity 4 had the highest concentration of ALP of 161.3 ± 8.10 U/L while Nguni cows in parity 1 had the highest concentration level of ALT 55.1 ± 1.56 U/L than all the cows within the same herd. The Nguni herd had significantly higher (P < 0.05) levels of creatinine in both the wet (97.8 ± 3.27 μmol/L) and dry seasons (108.7 ± 3.29 μmol/L) compared with the Boran herd. Cows from the Nguni herd maintained significantly higher amount of urea, creatinine, albumin and total protein in both the wet and dry seasons as compared with cows from the Boran herd. Cows from the Nguni herd maintained significantly higher amount of urea, creatinine, albumin and total protein in both the wet and dry seasons as compared with those from the Boran herd.

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Acknowledgements

This research was sponsored partly by Adam Fleming through the Nguni Cattle project (Project P329) and the other part by National Research Foundation RTF projects (IUD numbers RTF150329116339 and RTF150522118247).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Livestock and Pasture Science, University of Fort Hare, P. Bag X1314, Alice, 5700, South Africa

    Lizwell Mapfumo, Voster Muchenje & John F. Mupangwa

  2. ARC-Animal Production Institute, P. Bag X2, Irene, 0062, South Africa

    Michiel M. Scholtz

  3. Department of Grasslands and Wildlife Sciences, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein, 9300, South Africa

    Michiel M. Scholtz

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  1. Lizwell Mapfumo
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  2. Voster Muchenje
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Correspondence to Voster Muchenje.

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The authors of this article declare no conflict of interest with any organisation or entity with any financial or non-financial support to the study. The grantholder also acknowledges that opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are of the authors, and that the sponsors holds no liability whatsoever in this regard.

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Mapfumo, L., Muchenje, V., Mupangwa, J.F. et al. Changes in biochemical proxy indicators for nutritional stress resilience from Boran and Nguni cows reared in dry arid rangeland. Trop Anim Health Prod 49, 1383–1392 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-017-1338-0

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