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Physiological variations and the influence of age and sex on serum biochemical profile of hinnies

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Abstract

There is little information about serum biochemistry in hinnies, animals that are usually confused with mules, so this is why specific diagnosis and treatment for these animals are difficult to obtain. Due to this fact, this study had the aim of offering elements to understand and determine references in serum biochemistry parameters specific for hinnies. To achieve this objective, biochemistry parameters from blood samples collected from 33 healthy animals (15 male hinnies with age between 7 and 84 months, and 18 female hinnies with age between 17 days and 84 months), from different farms in Brazil, were evaluated to verify the influence of age and sex of animals on these parameters. The analyzed elements were total protein, albumin, globulin, albumin:globulin (A:G) ratio, cholesterol, triglycerides, uric acid, creatinine, urea, calcium, phosphorus, calcium-phosphorus ratio (Ca:P), magnesium, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and creatine kinase (CK). Animal’s ages had an influence on biochemistry parameters, as the younger animals (≤ 30 months) presented higher levels of phosphorus and higher albumin:globulin ratio. Males and females presented similar serum biochemistry profiles. The results of this study offer elements to determine the serum biochemistry profile of hinnies and have enormous importance for veterinary clinic since this is one of the first researches in this area.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to extend their gratitude and thanks to the owners of animals used in this research, for their great contribution: Mr. Celso Donizete, Mr. Euler Miranda, Mr. Flavio Assis, Mr. Luiz F. Haddad, Mr. Luis Paulo, Mr. Osvando A. Pimenta, and Mr. Tarcisio Rezende.

Funding

The study was jointly funded by the authors and was supported by the School of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Uberlândia and Laboratory of Animal Reproduction, Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Avenida Pará 1720, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, 38405-320, Brazil

    João Batista F. Santos, Robson C. Antunes & Antonio V. Mundim

  2. EMBRAPA Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil

    Mauricio M. Franco

  3. Faculdade de Matemática, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Ednaldo C. Guimarães

  4. Médico Veterinário autônomo, Av. Prof. José Inácio de Souza, 3525, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, 38405-330, Brazil

    João Paulo A. F. Santos

Authors
  1. João Batista F. Santos
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  2. Mauricio M. Franco
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  3. Robson C. Antunes
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  4. Ednaldo C. Guimarães
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  5. João Paulo A. F. Santos
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  6. Antonio V. Mundim
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to João Batista F. Santos.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical considerations

All produced carried out were in accordance with institutional and national/international guidelines for animal experiments. This study was approved by Ethics Committee an Animal Use of the Federal University of Uberlândia (CEUA/UFU), under protocol no. 160/13.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

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Santos, J.B.F., Franco, M.M., Antunes, R.C. et al. Physiological variations and the influence of age and sex on serum biochemical profile of hinnies. Comp Clin Pathol 27, 1037–1042 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-018-2698-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-018-2698-1

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