Reference values for amino acids and acylcarnitines in peripheral blood in Quarter horses and American Miniature horses

Background Free amino acids and acylcarnitines circulating in the blood can be used for diagnosis for metabolic illness and imbalances. To date, the normal reference ranges of amino acids and acylcarnitines in horse peripheral blood have not been established. In this study, the concentrations of 12 amino acids and 26 acylcarnitines were determined by tandem mass spectrometry in complete blood from 100 healthy horses (50 Quarter horses (QH) [23 males and 27 females] and 50 American Miniature horses (AMH) [15 males and 35 females]) with no signs of metabolic disease. The means and standard deviations were determined and data statistically analyzed. Findings Concentrations of short, medium, and long chain acylcarnitines were significantly higher in male AMH than in male QH. The concentrations of the amino acids alanine, arginine, glycine, proline (glycogenic), and leucine (ketogenic) were higher in the QH than in the AMH. Female AMH had higher concentrations of propionylcarnitine, leucine, proline, arginine, and ornithine than female QH. Conclusions Normal reference ranges of amino acids and acylcarnitines were established for AMH and QH. Significant differences were found in concentration of these compounds between breeds and gender. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13028-015-0144-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.