Lactate Concentration and Its Changes in the Blood of 3-month-old Rabbits

Abstract

It was performed on 3-month-old rabbits, which were exposed to acute (20 minutes) and severe form of exogenous hypoxia (forced breathing in a nitrogen atmosphere with 5% O2 in pressure chamber conditions). Immediately after that (in the 1st, 3rd and 6th hours), the amount of lactate in their blood was determined. First, we studied the normal level of lactate in the blood of 3-month-old guinea pigs, then we subjected them to a hypoxia load and determined lactate. This series of experiments conducted by us allows us to get an idea of how blood lactate levels initially change in 3-month-old rabbits that have not yet reached sexual maturity under normal conditions and during the effects of various severe loads (such as acute hypoxia, long-term immobilization, and fast running). Here, we want to mention once again about lactate that this simple carbohydrate metabolite, along with other simple carbohydrates such as pyruvate (pyruvic acid) in the human and animal body, when there is a lack of oxygen in its cells, the glycolysis process (anaerobic decomposition of glucose) is carried out even faster, is an indicator of metabolic and functional importance that allows us to make judgments about its end products and at the same time its intensity and duration. As a final product of glycolysis, lactate accumulated in cells and tissues causes a change in the buffer systems there, an increase in the activity of the acidic range of pH (acidosis) and other negative reactions. An increase in the amount of lactate in the blood is considered a relatively weak toxic factor for the body. From this point of view, lactate is one of the harmful metabolites of the body. But studies have shown that the lactate formed as a result of glycolysis and other carbohydrate exchange processes is also used for the resynthesis (resynthesis) of sugars that are energetically useful for the body, that is, the body uses it as an energetic substrate. Therefore, the pronounced change in the level of lactate in the blood can also be considered as a kind of adaptive-defense reaction.