HOW IMPORTANT IS GROUP SIZE IN SELECTING RATS FOR EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES? EVOLUTION WITH ZOOTECHNICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL FINDINGS

In this study, which was conducted to investigate the growth performances of male Sprague-Dawley rats grown in different group sizes and changes that occurred in their oxidative statuses, 60 male 4-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were used. Two different cages with different dimensions were used, and 4 rats were put into each of the small cages, while 6 were put into each of the large cages. The trial was carried out with 6 replications. The rats were weighed each week for one month on the same day and at the same hour, and the average cage values were recorded. It was determined that the live weights showed a regular increase in both groups, and the growth performances did not differ based on group size. Group size was highly effective on the antioxidant components of the rats, and growing the rats in more crowded environments led to oxidative stress by changing their Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) (p<0.05), Total Oxidant Capacity (TOC) (p<0.05), Nitric Oxide (NO) (p<0.001), glutathione (GSH) (p<0.0001) and malondialdehyde (MDA) (p<0.001) levels. In the light of the data obtained, it was concluded that, when dense rat breeding is carried out to achieve more production from a unit area, even though no changes occur in the morphological structures of the animals, their oxidant balance is disrupted. This prevents obtaining accurate and reliable data in scientific studies. Consequently, it was determined that group size is a criterion that needs to be kept in mind in selection of rats to be used in scientific studies, and the appropriate group size should be provided for these animals.

Journal

FRESENIUS ENVIRONMENTAL BULLETIN

Year

2022

Volume

31

Issue

6A

Pages

6744-6749

ISSN

1018-4619

eISSN

1610-2304

WoS UID

WOS:000811588300081