Assessment of some liver enzyme activities in healthy Iraqi racing Horses

Abstract

The current study was conducted for the measurement of normal range and mean value of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) , aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in (125) clinically normal Iraqi racing horses (males and females , Arabian and Crossbred) , aged 2 – 8 years ; < 4 , 4 and > 4 age groups . The results revealed that the range and the mean value ± SEM of these enzymes were as follows ; serum ALT 2 – 28 U/L and 11.07 ± 0.62 U/L, serum AST 30 – 210 U/L and 78.00 ± 3.62 U/L and serum ALP 63 – 204 IU/L and 96.84 ± 2.52 IU/L respectively .However, significant difference (P < 0.05) in serum ALT was recorded between Arabian and Crossbred , while serum AST values showed a significant differences (P < 0.05) between males and females , as well as between less and more than four years age groups .On the other hand , there was no significant difference in serum ALP values between the studied groups . In conclusion , this study recorded and established the normal range reference values and mean ± SEM of serum liver enzymes ALT , AST and ALP in clinically healthy Iraqi racing horses .