Effect of diet on the metabolic profile of ostriches (Struthio camelus var. domesticus)

In order to study the metabolic profile of ostriches in relation to diet, 40 animals of both sexes were divided equally into two groups and fed two diets ad libitum consisting, on a dry matter basis, of the same commercial concentrate (60%) for the two groups and of com silage (group A) or alfalfa hay (group 13). In the morning, after about 12 It of fasting, blood was collected from the wing vein. The following haernatological parameters were determined with an automatic system (Ektachem 250 analyser, Kodak): glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, lactate (LAC), total protein (TP), uric acid, total bilirubin Tbil), creatinine (CREA), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), phosphorus (P), sodium (Na), potassium (K), chloride (CF), iron (Fe), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (AP), cholinesterase (ChE), alpha-amylase (Amyl), lipase (LIP) and gamma-glutamyltrasferase (GGT). Diet significantly affected some parameters of the metabolic profile. Indeed, owing to the presence of alfalfa hay in the diet, group B showed, in comparison to group A, significantly higher values of uric acid (222.5 vs 387.5 mmol/L, p<0.01), GGT (8.50 vs 11.3 U/L, p< 0.05), Tbil (8.50 vs 10.7 mmol/L, p<0.05), Ca (2.41 vs 2.83 mu mol/L, p<0.01), Mg (1.01 vs 1.18 mu mol/L, p<0.05) and K (2.71 vs 3.16 mu mol/L, p<0.01). The levels of creatinine (27.3 vs 32.6 mmol/L, p<0.05) and AST (344.9 vs 461.4 U/l, p<0.01) were also higher for group B.