Plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels in black-necked pheasants, gray and chukar partridges with cannibalism treated with silymarin and tryptophan

Abstract

Plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels were studied in black-necked pheasants, gray partridges and chukar partridges divided into 4 groups (n=12 in each group; n=6 by sex): first group (negative control) – clinically healthy birds, second group – birds treated with tryptophan, third group – birds treated with sylimarin, fourth group (positive control) – birds with signs of cannibalism. In the pheasants and chukars with signs of cannibalism, cholesterol levels were higher than these in the control group. On the opposite, the triglyceride levels in the other three groups of birds with canniba­lism were substantially lower than those in the healthy group. Supplementation with tryptophan tended to increase blood cholesterol and triglycerides in pheasants, gray and chukar partridges. In the groups treated with silymarin, the levels of the studied indicators were significantly higher in comparison to birds with cannibalism.