Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the effect of temperature (-20°C, + 4°C, room temperature) and storage time (7, 15, 107 and 173 days) of feces on progesterone concentration in camel (Camelus dromedarius). Plasma and feces were collected from 10 pregnant and one non-pregnant camels. Extraction of fecal metabolites of progesterone was performed with methanol and petroleum ether. The analytical validation was provided by internal quality control (IQC) and the success of the validation tests (sensitivity, precision, recovery and parallelism). In comparison to the value found in the day of collection, the mean concentration of progesterone in feces which was frozen or dried at room temperature showed no significant difference after 7 and 15 days. A significant increase was found for fecal samples stored at + 4°C. After 107 and 173 days, freezing is inadequate condition of storage because the fecal progestagen concentrations vary significantly. However, drying feces at ambient temperature maintained stable progestagen concentrations. Therefore, results indicated that drying feces is a reliable method, independent from an electric power source and the freezing equipment.
Highlights
Sexual hormone measurements traditionally involve invasive techniques such as blood collecting
We examined the effects of different storage treatments and periods on the fecal progestagen concentration
This study showed that storing fecal samples in room temperature did not affect progesterone metabolites concentration for 15 days
Summary
Sexual hormone measurements traditionally involve invasive techniques such as blood collecting. The measure of steroid metabolites in feces is widely suggested to monitor reproductive hormones in wildlife species (Graham, 2004; Freeman et al, 2010) as well as in domestic animals (Cebulj-Kadunc et al, 2000; Kornmatitsuk et al, 2007). It is a non-invasive method, since it avoids the stress effects related to blood sampling and fecal samples are collected and stored. Several studies were made to control for any variation due to storage procedures, which to avoid
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