SERUM PROTEINOGRAM CONCENTRATION IN CROSSBRED LAMBS (SANTA INÊS X DORPER) FROM BIRTH UNTIL 90 DAYS OLD: EFFECT OF THE AGE AND MONITORING OF COLOSTRUM INGESTION

Abstract

The failure of passive immunity transfer, which has been a major obstacle in the sheep industry, is an important cause of neonatal diseases and mortality. In search of an effective management measure to solve this problem, the effects of the age and the monitoring of colostrum administration on the dynamics of the serum proteins were evaluated. Forty-four lambs were used and divided into two groups: monitored colostrums intake (MO), with 8 animals, and non-monitored colostrums intake (NM), with 36 animals, along with clinical evaluation, hemogram and total serum protein assessment and its electrophoretic fractioning, 24-72h after birth, at 7, 15, 30, 60 and 90 days of age. The MO group was followed in two additional times: before and six hours after colostrum intake. Total protein and gammaglobulin (g/dL) in the MO group presented the minimum values right after birth (3.62 ± 0.70 and 0.32 ± 0.12) and the maximum 24-72 hours after birth (7.98 ± 1.95 and 3.39 ± 1.13). Such concentrations also showed the same behavior in the NM group, with lower values (5.57 ± 1.45 and 1.80 ± 0.95), and with significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) between groups. Between 15 to 30 days, the values of these variables decreased in both groups, and increased up to 90 days. In all experimental moments, the MO group showed higher values of gammaglobulin than NM group. The conclusions of this paper are that most of protein fractions, mainly total protein and gammaglobulin, undergo changes with the age development, and that the monitoring of colostrum intake increased significantly the levels of gammaglobulin.

KEYWORDS: Endogenous antibodies, failure of passive immunity transfer, immunoglobulins, neonatal period, serum proteins.