The Influence of Age on Clinical Biochemical Parameters in Pure-bred Arabian Mares

Specific reference intervals are needed for each animal species for the appropriate interpretation of the results ob- tained from serum biochemicaltests.Theaim ofthisstudy was to investigate the blood composition of pure-bred Arabian mares to evaluate the need for defining reference values for different age groups. In all, 90 clinically healthy mares fromfive farms were used in the trial. For the deter- minationoftheeffectofage,90mareswereassignedtosix groups. Groups A, B, C, D, E, and F comprised 15 foals aged � 5 months (meanSD: 2.45 � 1.88), 15 foals aged6to18months(meanSD:9.33 � 2.93),15mares aged2 to5 years (meanSD:3.91 � 0.7),15mares aged 6to12years(meanSD: 8.66 � 2.3), 15 mares aged 14 to 20 years (meanSD: 17.81 � 2.13), and 15 mares aged >20 years (meanSD: 22.8 � 1.93), respectively. Glucose,bloodureanitrogen(BUN),albumin,creatinine, totalbilirubin,directbilirubin,totalprotein,alkalinephos- phatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), calcium, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus concentra- tions were measured in the blood serum samples. There weresignificantage-relatedalterationsformostofthebio- chemicalparameters, except forALT,LDHactivities, and glucose, albumin, magnesium, and iron levels. The results ofthepresentstudyshowedthatdirectbilirubin(P