Abstract
ABSTRACTThe study evaluated the haematological and serum biochemistry profile of juvenile wild African giant rat and determined the influence of sex on the haematological and serum biochemistry parameters. These evaluations were carried out on 18 juvenile wild African giant rats of either sex, in Nsukka, south-eastern Nigeria, within the months of March–May 2014. Standard procedures were carried out in all the haematological and serum biochemical determinations. The overall mean with the minimum and maximum values for some of the hemato-biochemical parameters were as follows: packed cell volume – 34.87 ± 0.76 % (31.00 – 39.00); red blood cell count – 9.33 ± 0.66 x 106/µl (6.26 – 13.40); hemoglobin concentration – 10.27 ± 0.22 g/dl (9.26 – 12.63); total leukocyte count - 7.74 ± 0.14 x 103/µl (7.00 – 9.05); aspartate aminotransferase – 76.15 ± 6.68 IU/L (54.58 – 128.54); alanine aminotransferase – 18.09 ± 1.61 IU/L(11.91 – 25.49); alkaline phosphatase – 102.08 ± 2.43 IU/L (83.18 – 111.82); total proteins – 4.70 ± 0.10 g/dl (4.03 – 5.18). The females had significantly higher (p < .05) serum ALT, blood urea nitrogen and albumin values than males. The present study has presented preliminary information on the range of haematological and serum biochemistry parameters which may be useful to biomedical researchers and veterinary clinicians.
Highlights
The African giant rat (Cricetomys gambianus) known as the Gambian pouched rat is a large muroid, nocturnal and fossorial rodent
Determination of the packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin concentration (Hbc) and red blood cell (RBC) count of the juvenile African giant rats showed narrow range of values which are typical of many rodents such as the birch mouse (Wolk 1985), inbred juvenile cotton rat (Robel et al 1996), adult African giant rat (Oyewale et al 1998b), laboratory albino rat (Ihedioha et al 2004), African soft-furred rat (Kagira et al 2005), wild African grasscutter (Opara et al 2006) and brush-tailed rat (Jekl et al 2011)
The mean RBC count recorded in this study is higher than that reported for wild juvenile cotton rat (Robel et al 1996) and juvenile laboratory rat (Ihedioha et al 2004), and not different from that reported for the mole rat (Broekmann et al 2006)
Summary
The African giant rat (Cricetomys gambianus) known as the Gambian pouched rat is a large muroid, nocturnal and fossorial rodent. The condition of the burrows may have an impact on the structural components of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, haematology and blood chemistry parameters (Chapman & Bennet 1975) These rats are found in forests, thickets, pits and bushes, many thrive in urban and suburban settings (Cooper & Erlwanger 2007). The rat is known to be omnivorous as they feed on vegetables, insects, palm fruits and kernels and date palm. It lives in burrows underground and weighs between 1 and 1.4 kg and reaches sexual maturity at 5–7 months of age in the wild. In many African countries, they are valued as an important food item and a source of protein (Olayemi & Adeshina 2002)
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