EVALUATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SERUM BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS OF LIVER DISORDERS AND BODY CONDITION SCORES IN GOATS

Abstract

Body condition score (BCS) is an important tool used for the assessment of health status of goats. This study evaluated the relationship between varied body condition scores of goats and the activities and levels of certain serum biochemical markers of liver disorders (SBMLD). The study was a cross sectional survey of slaughter goats in Ikpa abattoir, Nsukka, Enugu state, Nigeria. Each goat was tagged and evaluated for body condition. Prior to slaughter, blood samples were collected and sera obtained for assay of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, gamma glutamyltransferase activities, and albumin and cholesterol levels. After clinical examination, 114 (94.21 %) of the goats were considered apparently healthy while 7 (5.79 %) were not healthy. Correlation of BCS with SBMLD indicated that cholesterol correlated positively and strongly (r = 0.861, p = 0.028).The cholesterol values of goats with body condition scores of 2.5 - 4 were significantly (p<0.05) higher than those with body condition scores of 1. It was concluded that the body condition score was directly related to the serum cholesterol values.