Estimation of Serum Liver Enzymes Activities in Awassi Sheep

Abstract

The current study was conducted on 152 clinically normal Awassi sheep to evaluate serum activities of alanine aminotranferase (ALT), aspartate amino-transferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT) in Baghdad governorate / Iraq. Sheep were divided into males; 62 ram lambs and rams, 90 females; ewe lambs, pregnant and lactating ewes both aged 7 to 48 months. The samples were collected from October 2011 until March 2012, and the sera were used for measurement of serum liver enzymes.The results revealed that the range and mean ± SEM of these enzymes were as follows : serum ALT 3.5 – 24 U/L and 9.66 ± 0.31 U/L, serum AST 25 – 220 U/L and 71.83 ± 3.09 U/L , serum ALP 59 – 300 U/L and 139.86 ± 3.56 U/L and serum GGT 2.3 – 38.2 U/L and 15.9 ± 0.78 U/L respectively. There were significant differences (P<0.05) between males and females in serum ALT and GGT activities. The effect of age on serum liver enzymes was studied in males. However, according to physiologic status a significant difference (P<0.05) noticed in serum enzymes values of all groups. In conclusion, present data recorded range references and mean ± SE for serum liver enzymes in normal Iraqi Awassi sheep with significant differences in activities of these enzymes between males and females a well as between subgroups in both sexes