Reference values for selected hematological, biochemical and physiological parameters of Sprague‐Dawley rats at the Animal House, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Background Lack of available reference values in a research setting under local conditions can be a drawback for beginners, as the accuracy of data from control samples cannot be checked at the beginning of a research project. This affects comparisons with data from test samples. To avoid these complications in their research projects, beginners tend to have a greater number of animals in the control group compared to test groups in order to have control group measurements within 2 SD s of the mean. Methods As non‐availability of reference values was a long‐felt need, the described project was conducted in order to establish a reference database for selected haematological, biochemical and physiological parameters using apparently healthy Sprague‐Dawley rats bred in the Animal House of Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo (UCFM). Results Differences in mean values of packed cell volume ( PCV ), mean corpuscular volume ( MCV ) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration ( MCHC ), serum creatinine and blood glucose levels between the two genders were statistically significant. Lipid profile measurements did not differ significantly between genders, but mean and median values of triglycerides ( TG ) between male and female rats showed a difference of more than 10 mg/dL. The liver enzymes alkaline phosphatase ( AP ) and aspartate aminotransferase ( AST ) were also statistically significantly different between sexes. Despite wide variation in mean alanine aminotransferase ( ALT ) between sexes, the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion The findings of this project should support to a certain extent the “Reduction” aspect of the 3Rs concept of Russell and Burch by reducing the number of Sprague‐Dawley rats used in future research projects at UCFM .

Eurycoma longifolia—Infused Coffee—An Oral Toxicity Study

“…Creatinine, urea, cholesterol, triglyceride and glucose levels were similar to published control data [ 31 , 36 ]. It was noted that there were large differences in the control data range published.…”

“…Coffee by itself has been shown to reduce platelet activation resulting in reduced platelet aggregation though platelet aggregate formation was not evaluated in the current study [ 35 ]. The decreased platelet levels recorded were lower than the average platelet levels in males when compared to the reference interval by He et al (2017) but were comparable to the reference values from Delwatta et al (2018) [ 31 , 36 ]. However, the decrease was not dose-dependent, as the highest dose did not further reduce the platelet reading compared with the lowest dose.…”

Acute and 28‐Day Repeated‐Dose Oral Toxicity Assessment of Abelmoschus moschatus Medik. in Healthy Wistar Rats

“…e administration of plant extracts showed a reduction in the counts of eosinophil and monocyte compared to the control animals. A significant reduction was observed in the aqueous extract of A. moschatus; however, the results were within the physiological range described for the species [48]. A reduction in these white cell parameters could be attributed to the potential anti-inflammatory properties of A. moschatus as reported previously [16].…”

“…A significant variation in platelet counts was noticed with the treatment of hexane and ethyl acetate extracts of A. moschatus compared to the control group (p < 0.05). However, the results were within the physiological range [48].…”

“…But the treatment with butanol extract of A. moschatus resulted in significant changes in the AST values (p < 0.05). However, the differences have no clinical significance since the values were found within the normal physiological range for the species [48]. Elevated levels of ɣ-GTand ALP are indicators of hepatobiliary obstruction and cholestatic induction [13,42].…”