Impact of Intestinal and Urinary Tracts Obstruction on Oxidative Stress Biomarkers in Dromedary Camels

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the status of the oxidative stress biomarkers in camels with obstructions of the gastrointestinal and urinary tracts. Eighteen dromedary camels were examined at the Qassim University Veterinary Hospital in Saudi Arabia because of obstructions in the gastrointestinal (n=13) or urinary tracts (n=5). Camels were referred for evaluation because of anorexia, absence of defecation, abdominal distension, anuria and urine dribbling. Ten clinically healthy female dromedary camels were enrolled in this study as controls. A 7mL blood sample was collected in plain tubes from each camel for serum harvesting. Stress biomarkers including malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT), Glutathione (GSH), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were determined in the sera. Parallel, lipid profiles including cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) were also measured. Results showed that the MDA values did not differ significantly among camels with obstructions in the gastrointestinal and urinary tracts. However, the GSH value was significantly lower in camels with intestinal obstruction compared to control. In a similar manner, the SOD value was also significantly lower in animals with intestinal obstruction compared to the healthy ones, with a statistically significant difference. Both GSH and SOD values did not differ significantly between camels with urinary obstruction and control group. The value of CAT in the controls did not differ significantly from the values in both diseased groups. Data of lipid profile analysis showed that the cholesterol and TG values were higher in the diseased groups compared to the healthy group. The HDL value was lower in the group of intestinal obstruction compared to the healthy animals, with a statistically significant difference. However, on the contrary, the LDL value was higher in the group of intestinal obstruction compared to the healthy animals, with a statistically significant. Both HDL and LDL values did not differ significantly between camels with urinary obstruction and control group.