Abstract
Albino rats (Rattus norvegicus) are the most commonly used laboratory animals for studies on the effects of drugs, supplements, herbal extracts and diets on the serum lipid profile (SLP), yet there is no comprehensive set of reference values for the SLP of albino rats of varied ages and sexes in available literature. This study was designed to assay the SLP of albino rats of varied ages and sexes. A total of 480 Sprague Dawley albino rats were used for the study, composed of 240 females and 240 males. The age sets studied were rats of 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 30, 40, and 50 weeks of age. For each age set, the SLP of 24 females and 24 males was assayed. Standard biochemical procedures were followed in the SLP assay after a 12-h overnight fast of the rats. Results showed that serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) significantly rose (p < 0.05) from their week 4 values in both sexes to a peak recorded at week 6 of age before a progressive decrease across the ages, while the serum triglyceride and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDLC) were at their peak at week 4 of age in both sexes and significantly (p < 0.05) progressively decreased across the ages to stabilize from weeks 20 to 50 of age. The overall mean ± SEM values of the SLP (milligrams per deciliter) of all the rats used for the study were as follows: TC, 113.99 ± 2.18; HDLC, 49.14 ± 1.05; triglyceride, 76.13 ± 2.38; VLDLC, 15.22 ± 0.48 and LDLC, 49.64 ± 1.82. The mean TC, triglyceride, VLDLC and LDLC of the male rats were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those of the females, but the mean HDLC of the females was higher (p > 0.05) than that of the males. It was concluded that there were significant variations in the SLP of albino rats across the ages studied and also significant differences between the sexes at certain ages.
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The authors acknowledge the assistance and cooperation of staff of the Biomedical Research Support Unit of the Foundation for Education and Research on Health, Nsukka, Nigeria.
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Ihedioha, J.I., Noel-Uneke, O.A. & Ihedioha, T.E. Reference values for the serum lipid profile of albino rats (Rattus norvegicus) of varied ages and sexes. Comp Clin Pathol 22, 93–99 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-011-1372-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-011-1372-7