Hematological, blood chemical and hormonal changes in Hanwoo (Korean Native Cattle) raised at different altitudes

초록

Despite the risk of high altitude disease (HAD), raising cattle at higher altitudes does have advantages such as beef quality due to minimal chance of infection and stress. The ideal situation is to determine the optimum altitude suitable for raising cattle while at the same time minimizing the risk of HAD. Therefore, in this study, we documented the health status of three groups of steers, raised at three different altitudes (200 m, 400 m and 800 m) in Gangwon province, using routine hematological, biochemical and hormonal tests. The red blood cell counts and hemoglobin concentration were highest in the 800 m group, and lowest in the 200 m group, possibly due to hypoxia induced myeloid and erythroid stimulation. The mean concentration of AST, BUN and serum cortisol were lowest in the 800 m. These findings suggest the stress factor will contribute the general health status of animal and indicate a difference in the Hanwoo groups raised at 800 m compared to 200 m, where the cattle raised at the higher altitude exhibit better health status compared to the lower altitude, possibly due to less stressful environment in the higher altitude.

키워드