Biochemical alterations in diarrheic Kankrej calves

Abstract

Neonatal calf diarrhea is a major health problem responsible for substantial economic losses in cattle production. The present study was conducted over a period of six months at the Livestock Research Station, Sardarkrushinagar, Gujarat, India, to evaluate selected biochemical alterations in diarrheic Kankrej calves. A total of thirty calves up to two months of age affected with diarrhea and ten apparently healthy calves were included as controls and analyzed for biochemical parameters, including blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (sCr), albumin (ALB), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), total protein (TP), and blood glucose. Diarrheic calves showed significantly (p≤0.05) higher concentrations of BUN (25.77±1.22 mg/dL), sCr (1.66±0.16 mg/dL), and albumin (3.73±0.09 g/dL), along with a significant (p≤0.05) decrease in blood glucose (70.62±3.01 mg/dL), and total protein (5.45±0.22 g/dL) compared to healthy controls. The findings indicate that neonatal calf diarrhoea is associated with marked biochemical disturbances related to dehydration and metabolic imbalance. Evaluation of these biochemical parameters may be useful for assessing disease severity and guiding clinical management in affected calves.