Metabolic profile of pregnant, non-pregnant and male twohumped camels (Camelus bactrianus) of Iran

The knowledge in blood constituents is important for assessing the physiological status and the health of animals. Only a limited number of two-humped camels (Camelus bactrianus) were reared in Ardabil province, northwest of Iran. The present study was carried out to find out whether the sex and pregnancy affect thyroid hormones, lipid and lipoprotein profile, and selected biochemical factors in healthy Iranian Bactrian camels. The evaluated herd contained twenty clinical healthy Bactrian camels, aged between four and thirteen years. Six of them were non-pregnant, five in the late period of pregnancy, and nine were male camels. Blood samples (10 mL) were collected from the jugular vein of camels in spring 2013 during two consecutive days. All samples were centrifuged at 3000× rpm for 15 min and sera were refrigerated at -21°C until analysis. Thyroid function tests were carried out by measuring serum levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free and total thyroxin (fT4), (T4), and free and total triiodothyronine (fT3), (T3) by commercially available radio immunoassay kits. The biochemical parameters were measured using a standard autoanalyser (Hitachi717, Boehringer. Mannheim, Germany). The levels of fT4, HDL-Cholesterol, ALP, and glucose in the sera of pregnant camels were significantly lower than the male and nonpregnant camels. The serum levels of other parameters were not significantly different among the groups. The present study revealed that heavy pregnancy has a profound effect on certain serum biochemical parameters in Bactrian camels.