www.IndianJournals.com Members Copy, Not for Commercial Sale Downloaded From IP - 14.139.224.243 on dated 26-May-2014 Serum biochemical changes in neonatal diarrhoeic calves of different age groups A.P.S Brar*, N.K. Sood, C.S. Ahuja 1 , B.S. Sandhu, K. Gupta and C.K. Singh Department of Veterinary Pathology 1 Department of Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana-141 004, Punjab Received: 05.11.13; Accepted: 15.01.14 ABSTRACT Brar, A.P.S, Sood, N.K., Ahuja, C.S., Sandhu, B.S., Gupta, K. and Singh, C.K. (2014). Serum biochemical changes in neonatal diarrhoeic calves of different age groups. Indian J. Vet. Pathol., 38(1) : 14-17. This study was conducted on 100 neonatal calves of different age groups suffering from diarrhoea to see changes in some serum proteins and minerals. Serum albumin of 15-21 days diseased calves was significantly higher (p<0.05), whereas globulins concentration of 8-14 and 31-60 days diseased groups were significantly decreased as compared to corresponding control group. Calcium and phosphorus levels were significantly higher (p<0.05) in diarrheic calves of 1-7 days age group as compared to control. However, significant hypophosphatemia as well as hypomagnesaemia was seen in the older diarrhoeic calves of 31-60 days age. Keywords: Diarrhoea, minerals, neonatal calves, serum proteins *Corresponding author: email: apsbrarpau@yahoo.com INTRODUCTION Diarrhoea is an important problem in young domestic animals particularly in calves. It can be caused by a variety of pathogens including bacteria, viruses, protozoa and intestinal parasites. Diarrhoea in neonatal calves is a major cause of economic loss to the cattle industry. It causes varying degree of dehydration, gastroenteritis, altered body fluid composition as well as alterations in various serum metabolites. Therefore, present study was, an attempt to see changes in some serum proteins and minerals in neonatal calves of different age groups suffering from diarrhoea. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was conducted on 100 cases of calf diarrhoea from outbreaks reported in various dairy farms in and around Ludhiana. These calves were divided into five age groups viz. 1-7 day (7 calves), 8-14 days (5 calves), 15-21 days (30 calves), 22-30 days (19 calves) and 31-60 days (39 calves). Diagnosis of bovine calf diarrhea was made on the basis of clinical examination of the sick animals. For biochemical estimations, blood was collected in gel vacutainers without anticoagulant. Serum was harvested by centrifugation at 3000 rpm for 15 minutes and stored in multiple small aliquots of 1-2 ml each at - 20 o C until analysis. Serum total proteins, albumin, globulins, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus were analyzed in Vet Scan VS2 Chemistry Analyser (Abaxis, Inc. Union city, CA, USA), using single-use disposable comprehensive diagnostic profile reagent rotors. The results were tested for their significance using statistical technique ANOVA and t test. To compare different groups with different number of animals, analysis of variance and Turkey’s HSD (Honestly Significant Differences) multiple comparisons test were used. All data were analyzed through SPSS version 17.0. RESULTS There was no significant difference in the total serum proteins, albumin and globulins among diseased calves of different age groups (Tables 1,2,3). Total serum proteins of diseased calves of different age groups were also not significantly different from the respective controls. Serum albumin of only 15-21 days diseased calves was significantly higher (p<0.05) as compared to corresponding control group (Table 2), whereas, globulins concentration of 8-14 and 31-60 days diseased groups was significantly decreased (Table 3). There was no significant difference in serum calcium, phosphorus and magnesium among diseased calves of different age groups (Tables 4,5,6). However, calcium levels were significantly higher (p<0.05) in diarrhoeic calves of 1-7 and 22-30 days age groups as compared to corresponding control groups (Table 4). A significant hyperphosphatemia was observed in diarrhoeic calves of 1-7 days and 8-14 days age as compared to control (Table 5). However, in the older diarrhoeic calves of 15- 21, 22-30 and 31-60 days age, a significant hypophosphatemia (p<0.01) was seen. No significant Indian J. Vet. Pathol., 38(1) : 14-17, 2014