Hematological Normality, Serum Biochemistry, and Acute Phase Proteins in Healthy Beef Calves in the Brazilian Savannah

Guilherme Augusto Motta; Paulo Sabino Milhomen Neto; Ricardo Perecin Nociti; Áureo Evangelista Santana

doi:10.3390/ani13152398

Hematological Normality, Serum Biochemistry, and Acute Phase Proteins in Healthy Beef Calves in the Brazilian Savannah

Animals (Basel). 2023 Jul 25;13(15):2398. doi: 10.3390/ani13152398.

Authors

Guilherme Augusto Motta^{1

2}, Paulo Sabino Milhomen Neto³, Ricardo Perecin Nociti^{4

5}, Áureo Evangelista Santana¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Clinic and Surgery, School of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, São Paulo State University, Jaboticabal 14884-900, São Paulo, Brazil.
² Department of Veterinary Medicine, Araraquara University-UNIARA, Araraquara 14801-340, São Paulo, Brazil.
³ Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Tocantins, Araguaína 77824-838, Tocantins, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Biomedicine Veterinary, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Montreal University/Saint Hyacinthe, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC J2S 2M2, Canada.
⁵ Laboratory of Molecular Morphophysiology and DevelopmentSchool of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Animal Science and Food Engineering, University of São Paulo, Pirassununga 13635-900, São Paulo, Brazil.

Abstract

The Brazilian savannah region, characterized by high average temperatures, well-defined rainy and dry seasons, soil with low productive potential, and high pressure for parasitic diseases, is home to the highest percentage of the beef herd, which is the world's largest commercial beef producer. Therefore, breeds that present rusticity combined with productivity are the focus of research in cattle breeding in the region. Considering their geographic particularities and their effects on the animals' blood parameters, the objective was to study the behavior of hematological variables, serum biochemistry, and acute phase proteins in beef calves at weaning age. Jugular blood samples were collected in a single day from 30 weaning calves (about eight months old and 200 kg of body weight) from the following breeds: Nellore, Senepol, Nellore × Aberdeen Angus cross, Nellore × Senepol cross, and Nellore × Aberdeen Angus × Senepol cross. Hematological data were obtained using an automatic cell counter, serum biochemical measurements were obtained using commercial kits, and the electrophoretogram was obtained using the SDS-page technique. In general, the results were consistent with data already published in similar situations regarding health status, age, and level of metabolic activity. However, differences observed between groups can be explained by differences observed in other concurrent variables like temperament. The pure zebu breed was more reactive than pure taurine. While crossbreds showed intermediate values, and parasitic infestation, the pure taurine breed with higher parasite infestation, while the zebu breed had lower values, which produced effects in some laboratory tests, and generated differences between breeds. In conclusion, the reference intervals available for healthy animals can be routinely used without interference from the geographic region for animals produced without nutritional failures as long as changes are recorded in pathological, infectious, metabolic, or nutritional deficiency situations. However, it is suggested that a study covering a larger number of herds may demonstrate a greater geographic effect on the studied variables.

Keywords: beef breeds; blood count; enzymes; metabolites; proteinogram; weaning calves.

Grants and funding

The full costs of the experimental works were of the first author, G.A.M. G.A.M. thanks CAPES for the scholarship granted at the beginning of the Doctorate course and for funding the publication fees together with the Graduate Program in Veterinary Sciences.