The Effect of Environment On the Concentrations of Sodium and Potassium in The Serum and Urine of Dromedary Camel

Samples of blood and urine were collected from (43) young dromedary camels from Al-Najaf province of Iraq in summer and winter in 2016. Biochemical analysis of these samples was carried out on sodium (Na) and potassium (K). The result revealed that the values of sodium and potassium were more in summer time than winter time in blood and urine samples. The ratio of Na/K was more in summer time than in winter time. The Na/K ratio of the serum was 3.4 times than that of the urine. The result found that the values of Na and K were more in the urine than the serum. The study regarded the increase of electrolytes in the body of the camel, against hot environment, as an acclimatization mechanism. The study concluded that the camel behaves, in hot environment, as a hypertonic mass to save the water in his body.


Introduction
reported that the sodium was the main ion that forms and keeps the size of the extracellular fluid and the osmotic pressure.Coles (1986) [3] stated that the Na values in the serum of ruminants were 132-152 ml Eq/ liter, while the K values were 3.91-5.8mlEq/ liter, and the value of Na elevated after dehydration.Choudhary et al. (1995) [4] found that the Na level in dromedary camel was 152.85±6.30and the K level was 4.53±0.26.Dehydration leads to decrease the blood plasma size and consequently elevation in the Na concentration from 154±2 to 191±3 in dromedary camels in Morocco [5].Toma and Al-lami (2000) [6] found, in their study on Iraqi mountain goat, that Na ion concentration in the serum in summer time was higher than in winter time, while K ion registered lower values in summer time compared to winter time.On the other hand, Wang-Q et al 1996 reported that the Na in Bactrian camel was low.El -tahir et al. (2010) [7] reported that the serum elements of dromedary camels ranges were 97.8-246.1 mEq/liter for Na and 3.22-8.70mEq/liter for K.

Animals
Forty-three healthy male camels of 1-4-year-old were collected from Abattoir of Al-Najaf Province, Iraq in Summer and winter times.

Blood samples
Blood samples were collected from jugular veins after slaughtering at 4-7 AM.Blood samples were collected in serum collection tubes and the serum was separated by centrifugation at 2500 RPM, then preserved at -18 O c .Serum analysis was carried out after 3-4 hours of collection.

Urine samples
Urine samples were collected from the urinary bladder directly after slaughtering.Urine samples were collected in sterilized clean tubes

Biochemical analysis
Serum or urine samples were analyzed for concentrations of (Na) and (K).Flame photometer was used for measurement of concentrations of these two electrolites (ml Eq/liter) according to Wooton 1964 [1].By mixing 0.2 ml of urine or blood with 19.8ml of distilled water to get dilution factor of 1:100, then put it in the instrument and compared with the standard solutions of the instrument.The stock standard sodium was prepared by dissolving 11.69 gm of Na chloride in one liter of distilled water while the DOI:10.29011/AVST-127/100027stock standard K was prepared by dissolving 0.74 gm of Kcl in one liter of distilled water.Then the instrument reading was used in this equation The concentration of serum or urine (ml Eq /liter) = The reading x 100

Results and Discussion
The two elements, Na and K, work together to keep animal body balanced.Animal body need Na to maintain proper ionic balance in fluids and tissues.Water follows Na, and any Na deficiency might lead to dehydration [8].The current study found that both Na and K were significantly affected by the environmental changes, as both electrolites were significantly elevated in blood and urine during summer time compared to winter time, however, the Na/K ratio was higher in summer compared to winter.This was similar to the findings of Pandy and Roy 1969 [9] in Indian buffaloes and Ghosal et al. 1973 [10] in Indian camels.Moreover, the Na/K ratio of the serum was 3.4 times than the ratio of the urine (Table 1 and  2).The study also agreed with Yagil et al 1975, Guyton 1981 [11] and Ali et al 2012 [12] who stated that dehydration leads to elevate the Na level in the serum of the camel to keep the water in his body and agreed with Al-Janabi and Al-Jalili 1990 [8] who reported that Na level elevated in the blood due to increase its absorption from the intestine.The values of the present study were within the range of the findings of El-Tahir et al 2010 [7].On the other hand, the study was in variance with Blinco and Brody 1951 [13] and Kamal et al 1962 [14] who reported that there were no significant differences in the values of Na and K in the plasma of cattle during elevation of temperature.The study partly agreed with Yagil and Berlyne 1976 [15] who registered only Na level elevation in the urine during dehydration followed by rapid.
Rehydration while K metabolism was not elevated, and with Toma and Al-Lami 2000 [6] who registered Na ion elevation in the serum of mountain goat.Vander 1980 [16] hypothesized that in summer time, camel increases the electrolytes of the serum in order to regulate and acclimate extra cellular fluids especially the volume of the blood and plasma compared to intra and inter cellular fluids by means of the osmotic gradient.This explained by increasing the size of the plasma and decreasing the intracellular fluids compared to other animals.The study regarded the increase of electrolytes in the body of the camel, against hot environments, as an acclimatization mechanism.The study concluded that the camel behaves, in his environment, as a hypertonic mass to save the water in his body.

Figure 1 :
Figure 1: Showing the effect of season on the concentration of minerals in the serum of Camel.

Figure 2 :
Figure 2: Showing the effect of season on the concentration of minerals in the urine of Camel.

Table 1 :
= Presence of Significant differences (P<0.05) between seasons.Showing the effect of season on the concentration of minerals in the serum of Camel. *