ABSTRACT
The following parameters were determined in blood serum of apparently healthy Bennett's wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus) using the Hitachi 917 (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany) and/or the Vettest 8008 (IDEXX-GmbH, Woerrstadt, Germany): alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, ammonia, alpha-amylase, aspartate aminotransferase, Ca, Cl, cholesterol, cholinesterase, creatine kinase, creatinine, gammaglutamyltransferase, glucose, iron, lactate dehydrogenase, magnesium, phosphate, potassium, protein, sodium, total bilirubin, triglyceride, and urea. The results for cholesterol, glucose, total protein, triglyceride and for the enzymes alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyltransferase and lactate dehydrogenase differed significantly between both methods (P < 0.05). There is a negative correlation between the age of the Bennett's wallabies and the activity of the alkaline phosphatase. Five protein fractions could be separated on cellulose acetate electrophoresis. The mean concentrations of fructosamine and beta-hydroxybutyrate were 447.3 micromol/L and 0.27 mmol/L, respectively. The estimated vitamin A intake had no influence on the vitamin A concentration in serum. The serum vitamin E concentration was in general low and vitamin E was below the detection limit of 0.82 micromol/L in 29 out of 42 serum samples. The use of these analytes is discussed concerning the knowledge about the physiology, nutrition and diseases of macropods.
