PMID- 37174585 OWN - NLM STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE LR - 20230515 IS - 2076-2615 (Print) IS - 2076-2615 (Electronic) IS - 2076-2615 (Linking) VI - 13 IP - 9 DP - 2023 May 5 TI - Measures of Oxidative Status Markers in Relation to Age, Sex, and Season in Sick and Healthy Captive Asian Elephants in Thailand. LID - 10.3390/ani13091548 [doi] LID - 1548 AB - Oxidative stress is a pathological condition that can have adverse effects on animal health, although little research has been conducted on wildlife species. In this study, blood was collected from captive Asian elephants for the assessment of five serum oxidative status markers (reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentrations; malondialdehyde, MDA; albumin; glutathione peroxidase, GPx; and catalase) in healthy (n = 137) and sick (n = 20) animals. Health problems consisted of weakness, puncture wounds, gastrointestinal distress, eye and musculoskeletal problems, and elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus hemorrhagic disease (EEHV-HD). Fecal samples were also collected to assess glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCMs) as a measure of stress. All data were analyzed in relation to age, sex, sampling season, and their interactions using generalized linear models, and a correlation matrix was constructed. ROS and serum albumin concentrations exhibited the highest concentrations in aged elephants (>45 years). No sex differences were found for any biomarker. Interactions were observed for age groups and seasons for ROS and catalase, while GPx displayed a significant interaction between sex and season. In pairwise comparisons, significant increases in ROS and catalase were observed in summer, with higher ROS concentrations observed only in the adult female group. Lower catalase activity was exhibited in juvenile males, subadult males, adult females, and aged females compared to subadult and adult elephants (males and females) in winter and the rainy season. There was a positive association between catalase activity and fGCMs (r = 0.23, p < 0.05), and a number of red blood cell parameters were positively associated with several of these biomarkers, suggesting high oxidative and antioxidative activity covary in red cells (p < 0.05). According to health status, elephants with EEHV-HD showed the most significant changes in oxidative stress markers, with MDA, GPx, and catalase being higher and albumin being lower than in healthy elephants. This study provides an analysis of understudied health biomarkers in Asian elephants, which can be used as additional tools for assessing the health condition of this species and suggests age and season may be important factors in data interpretation. FAU - Kosaruk, Worapong AU - Kosaruk W AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-1706-2684 AD - Doctoral Degree Program in Veterinary Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand. AD - Center of Elephant and Wildlife Health, Chiang Mai University Animal Hospital, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand. AD - Elephant, Wildlife, and Companion Animals Research Group, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand. FAU - Brown, Janine L AU - Brown JL AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-3898-7755 AD - Center of Elephant and Wildlife Health, Chiang Mai University Animal Hospital, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand. AD - Elephant, Wildlife, and Companion Animals Research Group, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand. AD - Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA. FAU - Towiboon, Patcharapa AU - Towiboon P AD - Center of Elephant and Wildlife Health, Chiang Mai University Animal Hospital, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand. FAU - Punyapornwithaya, Veerasak AU - Punyapornwithaya V AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-9870-7773 AD - Department of Food Animal Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand. FAU - Pringproa, Kidsadagon AU - Pringproa K AD - Elephant, Wildlife, and Companion Animals Research Group, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand. AD - Department of Veterinary Bioscience and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand. FAU - Thitaram, Chatchote AU - Thitaram C AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-9319-5596 AD - Center of Elephant and Wildlife Health, Chiang Mai University Animal Hospital, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand. AD - Elephant, Wildlife, and Companion Animals Research Group, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand. AD - Department of Companion Animal and Wildlife Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand. LA - eng GR - 1-2022/Smithsonian Institution/ GR - 1-2566/Center of Elephants and Wildlife Health, Chiang Mai University/ PT - Journal Article DEP - 20230505 PL - Switzerland TA - Animals (Basel) JT - Animals : an open access journal from MDPI JID - 101635614 PMC - PMC10177462 OTO - NOTNLM OT - Asian elephants OT - albumin OT - catalase OT - glutathione peroxidase OT - malondialdehyde OT - oxidative stress OT - reactive oxygen species COIS- The authors declare no conflict of interest. EDAT- 2023/05/13 15:13 MHDA- 2023/05/13 15:14 PMCR- 2023/05/05 CRDT- 2023/05/13 01:22 PHST- 2023/02/22 00:00 [received] PHST- 2023/04/25 00:00 [revised] PHST- 2023/04/26 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2023/05/13 15:14 [medline] PHST- 2023/05/13 15:13 [pubmed] PHST- 2023/05/13 01:22 [entrez] PHST- 2023/05/05 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - ani13091548 [pii] AID - animals-13-01548 [pii] AID - 10.3390/ani13091548 [doi] PST - epublish SO - Animals (Basel). 2023 May 5;13(9):1548. doi: 10.3390/ani13091548.