Some Haematological and Serum Biochemical Parameters in Apparently Clinically Healthy Hassawi Donkey

Abstract

Key words: Donkey, Hassawi, blood, haematology, serumThe Hassawi donkey breed represents one of the most common native donkey breeds in the Middle East taking its name from the Al-Hasa region in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. Due to the lack of information about the main haematological and serum biochemical parameters of Hassawi donkey breed, this study aimed at the determination of reference base-line values regarding haematological and biochemical parameters. Four physiological, sixteen haematological and twenty biochemical parameters were determined. In comparison to other donkey breeds, Hassawi donkey showed higher percentage of eosinophils 17.62 ± 1.92%, higher concentrations of creatine kinase (CK) 185.6 ± 6.55 IU/L, phosphorus (PHOS) 4.40 ± 0.21 mmol/l, magnesium (MG) 2.48 ± 0.08 mmol/l, calcium (Ca) 12.4 ± 0.09 mmol/l, Sodium (Na) 133.1 ± 0.39 mmol/l and potassium (K) 4.77 ± 0.1mmol/l, but lower concentration of gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) 31 ± 2.78 IU/l. The higher glucose (GLU) 80.82 ± 4.67 mg/dl values in the present study may be due to the date rich feeding of Hassawi donkey.

Impact of season, age and gender on some clinical, haematological and serum parameters in Shetland ponies in east province, Saudi Arabia

“…According to the present results, most biochemical parameters in Shetland ponies were lower than that reported for Arabian horses except TP, which was more in Shetland ponies [21] . However, when comparing the present results with values reported in Hassawi donkey from the same area, it found higher values of GLOB, BUN, CK, TBIL and GLU and lower GGT and ALB in Shetland ponies than that reported in Hassawi donkey [4] . Differences in biochemical parameters values among previous studies could be explained by many factors like life condition, muscle mass, type of feeding and type of exercise.…”

“…However, with the exception of platelets, Shetland ponies have lower values of WBC, Lymphocyte, RBC and HGB in comparison to horses [21] . In addition, comparison of our results with values of haematological parameters of Hassawi donkeys that live in the same geographical area [4] showed that Shetland ponies have lower values in most haematological parameters like WBC, RBC, Lymphocyte, HBG, MCV, MCH, MCHC and MPV. Such differences observed between our results and results from previous studies may be due to differences in group size, geographical locations and assay methodology.…”

“…Reference ranges of physiological, biochemical and haematological values may differ according to many factors like breed, age, sex, type of feeding, seasonal and environmental circumstances [3] , [4] , [5] , [6] , [7] . As a stress hormone, serum cortisol has been widely used to evaluate seasonal and environmental adaptation of the animal [12] , [13] .…”

“…Ponies have spread over the past decades also in the Arabic Gulf countries specially Shetland ponies. Reference ranges of physiological, biochemical and haematological values are widely used in veterinary clinics for disease prognosis, differential disease diagnosis, nutritional and therapeutic monitoring [3] , [4] . It is also well established that the standard values of haematological and biochemical parameters referred for a particular breed of animals may not hold good for other breeds as these have been reported to vary in different breeds [5] , [6] .…”

Selenium and Vitamin E Concentrations in Miranda Jennies and Foals (Equus asinus) in Northeast Portugal

“…Despite the lack of specific knowledge on the risk factors for Se and Vit E deficiency or overdose in donkeys, authors such as Shawaf [28] and Bazzano et al [6] have reported interspecies and sex differences. Other authors have addressed additional factors such as the low levels of Se in the soil of certain regions to be sufficient to predispose newborn foals to develop pathological conditions, along with the possibility of donkeys having a lower Se blood profile when compared to horses [6].…”