Correlation between blood, physiological and behavioral parameters in beef calves under heat stress

Abstract

ObjectiveThe performance, health, and behaviour of cattle can be strongly affected by climate. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of heat stress on blood parameters, blood proteins (haptoglobin [Hp]; heat shock protein 70 [HSP70]), rectal temperature (RT), heart rate (HR) and rumination time in Korean native beef calves.MethodsThirty-two Korean native beef calves were randomly assigned to 8 groups with 4 animals per group. They were kept in environmental condition with temperature-humidity index (THI) ranging from 70.01 to 87.72 in temperature-humidity controlled chamber for 7 days.ResultsTheir HR, RT, and serum cortisol and HSP70 levels were increased (p<0.05) in high THI compared to those at low THI. But, serum Hp level was decreased (p<0.05) in high THI compared to these at low THI. In addition, HR, RT, serum cortisol and HSP70 were positively correlated with THI (R2 = 0.8368, p<0.01; R2 = 0.6162, p<0.01; R2 = 0.581, p<0.01; R2 = 0.2241, p = 0.0062, respectively). There was also positive association between HR and cortisol (R2 = 0.4697, p<0.01). Similarly, RT and cortisol were positively associated (R2 = 0.4581, p<0.01). But, THI and HR were negatively correlated with Hp (R2 = 0.2157, p = 0.02; R2 = 0.3362, p = 0.003). Hematology and metabolites results were different among treatment groups. Standing position was higher (p<0.05) in the high THI group compared to that in the low THI group.ConclusionBased on these results, it can be concluded that HR, RT, blood parameters (Cortisol, HSP70, Hp) and standing position are closely associated with heat stress. These parameters can be consolidated to develop THI chart for Korean native beef calves.

Thermal stress altered growth performance and metabolism and induced anaemia and liver disorder in Labeo rohita

“…Liver disorder was further confirmed by liver function test with higher value of serum GPT and GOT in this study. Kim et al () also documented enzyme activity of similar nature due to thermal stress in beef calves. Value of lower serum protein, albumin and higher GOT, GPT were previously found for other higher organism under thermal stress (Hooda & Upadhyay, ).…”

Effect of Dietary Rumen-Protected L-Tryptophan Supplementation on Growth Performance, Blood Hematological and Biochemical Profiles, and Gene Expression in Korean Native Steers under Cold Environment

“…Cold stress causes negative effects on growth performance and immune cell population by influencing metabolic and immunological activities [5,6]. Thus, hematological profiles, if measured, could be a good indicator of how stressors affect the immune function of the body [6][7][8][9]. The thermo-neutral zone for growing Korean native beef cattle is approximately 4 to 20 • C, and the critical temperature is approximately −10 • C [1,3].…”

Blood parameter of Nellore steers submitted to different levels of feed intake

“…The absence of significant variation in glucose behavior over time and in treatments was expected (HORNICK et al, 1998) since the blood glucose content has few variations in the ruminants due to the very efficient homeostatic mechanisms of the organism, except in animals with severe malnutrition (GONZÁLEZ and SCHEFFER, 2003) or subjected to intense heat (KIM et al, 2018), cases in which a decrease in blood glucose concentration may be observed (ELLENBERGER et al, 1989). In cases where the feed restriction has been imposed for long periods, the responses of the animals can be quite variable (NRC, 1996) as a function of the metabolic changes provided by the compensatory weight gain (BLUM et al, 1985;ELLENBERGER et al, 1989;HAYDEN et al, 1993).…”