Metabolic profiles and risks of diseases in camels in temperature conditions.

A survey of 65 female camels has been conducted over a 1-year period in France to determine their metabolic profiles and to study the correlations between this profile and the feeding and health status in temperate conditions. The following parameters were measured: protein (albumin, globulin, total protein), urea, glucose, free fatty acid, liver enzymes (GLDH, GGT, GOT), minerals (Ca, Mg, Cu, Zn) and ceruloplasmin. The values obtained were similar to those reported in desert areas throughout the world, but the standard deviation was generally higher. This important variation might be due to the large variability of feeding conditions: albumin (36.4 +/- 4.7 g/l), total globulin (32.7 +/- 5.1 g/l), total protein (69.2 +/- 6.1 g/l), urea (30.0 +/- 14.8 mg/100 ml), glucose (111.0 +/- 12.2 mg/100 ml), FFA (0.15 +/- 0.15 mmol/l), GLDH (5.8 +/- 10.8 IU/l), GGT (10.1 +/- 5.8 IU/l), GOT (48.1 +/- 14.3 IU/l), calcium (10.2 +/- 6.5 mg/100 ml), magnesium (2.6 +/- 0.3 mg/100 ml), copper (65.4 +/- 20.2 micrograms/100 ml), zinc (34.6 +/- 7.8 micrograms/100 ml), ceruplasmin (41.4 +/- 2.6 UO). The season, the mineral supplementation and the health status had a significant effect on the metabolic profile of the she-camels.