Hematological and Plasma Biochemical Parameters of Chinese Soft-Shelled Turtle during Hibernation and Non-Hibernation

摘要

Hibernation is a natural process in many mammals to maximize survival during extreme environmental conditions. The ability of hibernating animals to recover from hibernation with no obvious sign of injury makes them excellent model in natural protecting mechanism, which has great interest in medical research. Hematologic and biochemical analysis are an important tool which are used for the assessment of the health, physiological, behavioral, reproductive status and diagnosis for the disease for clinical and laboratorial point of view. The main objective of current study was to identify the hematological and plasma biochemical values of Chinese soft-shelled turtle during hibernation and non-hibernation. These results showed the hematological values of hemoglobin (Hb), red blood cells (RBCs), packed cell volume (PCV), heterophils, lymphocytes, basophils, and mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and plasma biochemical values of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), calcium, phosphorus, glucose, total protein, uric acid, creatinine, triglyceride, cholesterol, potassium and chloride were significantly increased during non-hibernation as compared to hibernation. However, the hematological values of white blood cells (WBCs) and monocytes, and plasma biochemical values of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and sodium level were significantly increased during hibernation as compared to non-hibernation. This information can serve as baseline reference data for future assessment study during hibernator and non-hibernator behavior of turtle.