Influência das faixas etárias, estação do ano e sexo no ferro sérico e seus metabólitos em bezerros de dois à 60 dias de idade

Abstract

Were analyzed 168 blood samples of healthy crossbred calves at the 2nd, 15th, 30th and 60th days of life, from the city of Uberlândia - MG, Brazil, with aim to investigate how variations in serum iron concentration and their metabolites correlate with age range, season and sexes. Blood samples were collected in EDTA-K3 tubes without anticoagulant. Were determined in serum iron (SI) and unsaturated iron binding capacity (UIBC) by Chemwell® multi-channel automatic analyzer, using the Labtest Diagnostica® kits. Total iron binding capacity (TIBC) and transferin saturation (TS) were calculated according to the manufacturer's recommendations. There was a difference (p <0.05) in iron concentrations (μg/dL) and no transfer saturation (%) at two months and 60 days of life, but it was not the influence of sex within each age. Statistical differences were observed in serum iron concentrations and their metabolites in all seasons of the year. There was no statistical difference when comparing the values of those animals anemic, non-anemic, leukocytosis, whithout leukocytosis. The age groups and the season of the year exert significant influence, however, anemia and leukocytosis were not reflected in the values of the other parameters.