Trace minerals status and antioxidant enzymes activities in calves with dermatophytosis.

The aim of this study was to determine the levels of trace minerals Zn, Cu, and Se, the effect of dermatophytosis on the level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) as an indicator of lipid peroxidation, the status of enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants, and the relationship between the mentioned trace minerals and antioxidant defense system in calves with dermatophytosis. A total of 21 Holstein calves with clinically established diagnosis of dermatophytosis and an equal number of healthy ones were included in this study. Results showed that 81% of mycotic isolates were Trichophyton verrucosum, while 19% were Trichophyton mentagrophytes. The level of Zn, Cu, Se, and glutathione (GSH) and the activity of the antioxidant enzymes, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were significantly (P <or= 0.05) lower. The plasma level of TBARS was significantly (P <or= 0.05) higher in dermatophytic calves compared to healthy controls. SOD activity was fairly correlated with serum Cu and positively correlated with serum Zn in healthy control (r = 0.68, P <or= 0.05; r = 0.58, P <or= 0.05) and in calves affected with dermatophytosis (r = 0.73, P <or= 0.05; r = 0.55, P <or= 0.05), respectively. GSH-Px activity was highly correlated with whole blood selenium (r = 0.78, P <or= 0.05) in healthy control and dermatophytic subjects (r = 0.76, P <or= 0.05). Our results demonstrated that in dermatophytosis, the alteration in the antioxidant enzyme activities might be secondary to changes in their cofactor concentrations.