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Effect of diet on the metabolic profile of ostriches (Struthio camelus var. domesticus)

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Abstract

In order to study the metabolic profile of ostriches in relation to diet, 40 animals of both sexes were divided equally into two groups and fed two diets ad libitum consisting, on a dry matter basis, of the same commercial concentrate (60%) for the two groups and of corn silage (group A) or alfalfa hay (group B). In the morning, after about 12 h of fasting, blood was collected from the wing vein. The following haematological parameters were determined with an automatic system (Ektachem 250 analyser, Kodak): glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, lactate (LAC), total protein (TP), uric acid, total bilirubin (Tbil), creatinine (CREA), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), phosphorus (P), sodium (Na), potassium (K), chloride (Cl), iron (Fe), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (AP), cholinesterase (ChE), α-amylase (Amyl), lipase (LIP) and γ-glutamyltrasferase (GGT). Diet significantly affected some parameters of the metabolic profile. Indeed, owing to the presence of alfalfa hay in the diet, group B showed, in comparison to group A, significantly higher values of uric acid (222.5 vs 387.5 mmol/L, p < 0.01), GGT (8.50 vs 11.3 U/L, p < 0.05), Tbil (8.50 vs 10.7 mmol/L, p < 0.05), Ca (2.41 vs 2.83 μmol/L, p < 0.01), Mg (1.01 vs 1.18 μmol/L, p < 0.05) and K (2.71 vs 3.16 μmol/L, p < 0.01). The levels of creatinine (27.3 vs 32.6 mmol/L, p < 0.05) and AST (344.9 vs 461.4 U/l, p < 0.01) were also higher for group B.

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Abbreviations

ADF:

acid detergent fibre

ADL:

acid detergent lignin

ALT:

alanine aminotransferase

Amyl:

α-amylase

AP:

alkaline phosphatase

AST:

aspartate aminotransferase

ChE:

cholinesterase

CREA:

creatinine

GGT:

γ-glutamyltrasferase

LAC:

lactate

LIP:

lipase

NDF:

neutral detergent fibre

NSC:

non-structural carbohydrates

Tbil:

total bilirubin

TP:

total protein

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Bovera, F., Moniello, G., De Riu, N. et al. Effect of diet on the metabolic profile of ostriches (Struthio camelus var. domesticus). Trop Anim Health Prod 39, 265–270 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-007-9008-2

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