ABSTRACT
Objective To observe the effects of road transport on hematological and biochemical parameters in New Zealand rabbits.Methods A total of 12 healthy New Zealand rabbits were selected for 2 h road transport.Blood samples were collected at 0, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h after transport, respectively.White blood cells (WBC), red blood cells (RBC), hemoglobin (HGB), hematocrit (MCV), mean erythrocyte hemoglobin content (MCH), mean erythrocyte hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and platelets (PLT) were measured using a blood analyzer.Blood alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), albumin (ALB), total protein (TP), urea nitrogen (UREA), creatinine, uric acid (UA), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (COHL), glucose (GLU), hypersensitive C-reactive protein (CRP), α-amylase (AMYL), and creatine kinase (CK) were detected by an automatic biochemical analyzer.Results Compared the parameters before and after transport, The WBC count was increased first (P< 0.05 or P < 0.01) and then decreased after transport, the levels of RBC, HGB, HCT and PLT were decreased first (P< 0.05 or P < 0.01) and then increased after transport, and MCV was significantly high at 96 h after transport (P< 0.05).Among the clinical biochemical parameters, ALT, AST and BUN were firstly elevated (P< 0.05 or P < 0.01) and then decreased.TP, ALB as well as CREA and TG were firstly decreased (P< 0.05 or P < 0.01) and then increased.GLU was significantly low at 24 h after transport (P< 0.05).All parameters except MCV at 96 h after transport were not significantly different from those before transport.Conclusions Changes of blood routine, liver and kidney function indexes, lipid metabolism indexes, glucose metabolism index and creatine kinase index are observed in the New Zealand rabbits after 2-hour road transportation, and all the indicators except MCV return to pre-transport levels within 96 h.