Hematological, morphological, biochemical and hydromineral responses in Rhamdia quelen sedated with propofol Luciane Tourem Gressler • Fernando Jonas Sutili • Sı ´lvio Teixeira da Costa • Thaylise Vey Parodi • Tanise da Silva Pe ˆs • Gessi Koakoski • Leonardo Jose ´ Gil Barcellos • Bernardo Baldisserotto Received: 6 September 2013 / Accepted: 24 September 2014 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 Abstract Rhamdia quelen morphophysiological responses to propofol sedation were examined. The purpose was to investigate whether propofol would be a suitable drug to be used in fish transport procedures. Fish were exposed to 0, 0.4 or 0.8 mg L -1 propofol for 1, 6 or 12 h in 40 L tanks, simulating open transport systems. Propofol was able to prevent the peak of cortisol levels experienced by the group exposed to 0 mg L -1 propofol at 1 h. At 0.4 mg L -1 , propofol also preserved the stability of hematological (hemat- ocrit, red blood cell count, hemoglobin, mean corpus- cular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration), mor- phological (red blood cell area), biochemical (cortisol, glucose, lactate, total protein, ammonia, urea, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase) and hydromineral (Na ? , Cl - and K ? plasma levels) indicators of stress. Such results suggest that sedation with propofol at 0.4 mg L -1 is suitable for R. quelen transport. Keywords Transport Á Stress Á Hematology Á Morphology Á Biochemistry Introduction The transportation segment of the fish farming system undoubtedly requires operational expertise and knowl- edge on the physiology of the subjects. Buin et al. (2013) stated that mortality occurred not only during transport but also and most importantly after the fish had been delivered to the recipient location. The addition of sedative/anesthetic substances to the water of transport has been employed in an attempt to reduce fish death arisen from transport-mediated stress (Ross et al. 2007; Becker et al. 2012; Benovit et al. 2012). The purpose is to induce a calming or sedative state during the procedure so that the perception of the stressful event is minimized and its side effects reduced (Iwama et al. 1989). The stress response in fish is an adaptive mecha- nism characterized by a cascade of physiological alterations that constitute a three-phase pattern (Wendelaar Bonga 1997). Firstly, upon stress, the neuroendocrine system releases catecholamines and L. T. Gressler Á F. J. Sutili Á T. V. Parodi Á T. da Silva Pe ˆs Á G. Koakoski Á B. Baldisserotto (&) Departamento de Fisiologia e Farmacologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil e-mail: bbaldisserotto@hotmail.com S. T. da Costa Departamento de Zootecnia do Centro de Educac ¸a ˜o Superior Norte do Rio Grande do Sul, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, 98300-000 Palmeira das Misso ˜es, RS, Brazil L. J. G. Barcellos Curso de Medicina Veterina ´ria, Universidade de Passo Fundo, Campus Universita ´rio do Bairro Sa ˜o Jose ´, 99001-970 Passo Fundo, RS, Brazil 123 Fish Physiol Biochem DOI 10.1007/s10695-014-9997-5