The influence of sex on the haematological values of apparently healthy adult Nigerian Sahel goats

Abstract

Blood samples were collected from fifty apparently healthy adult Sahel goats, twenty five each of male and female in Maiduguri to assess the influence of sex on their haematology. The red blood cell (RBC) counts, white blood cell (WBC) counts, haemoglobin (Hb) concentration, packed cell volume (PCV), platelet counts, neutrophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, monocytes and basophils counts were determined. The mean corpuscular volume (MCV), the mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were also determined. The RBC, WBC, MCH and neutrophil values were higher (P<0.05) in female than male goats. However, the platelet, MCV, eosinophil and monocyte values were higher (P<0.05) in male than female goats. The PCV, Hb, MCHC, lymphocytes and basophil values were comparable (P>0.05) in both sexes. The variations may be due to breed idiosyncrasies or inherent sex differences among male and female Sahel goats. The haematological values obtained in this study were significant, but did not differ from the normal values for caprine species. In conclusion, sex significantly influenced the RBC, WBC, MCV, MCH, platelet, neutrophil, eosinophil and monocyte values in this study.
Keywords: Haemogram, Maiduguri, Nigeria, Sahel Goats, Sex

Full text

Sokoto Journal of Veterinary Sciences, Volume 13 (Number 2). August, 2015
54
SHORT COMMUNICATION
Sokoto Journal of Veterinary Sciences
(P-ISSN 1595-093X/ E-ISSN 2315-6201)
Egbe-Nwiyi et al/Sokoto Journal of Veterinary Sciences (2015) 13(2): 54-58
http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/sokjvs.v13i2.9
The influence of sex on the haematological values of apparently
healthy adult Nigerian Sahel goats
TN Egbe-Nwiyi, E Igwenagu* & M Samson
Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maiduguri,
Nigeria
*Correspondence: Tel.: +2348036669258, E-mail: ephraimigwe@gmail.com
Abstract
Blood samples were collected from fifty apparently healthy adult Sahel goats, twenty five each of male and female
in Maiduguri to assess the influence of sex on their haematology. The red blood cell (RBC) counts, white blood cell
(WBC) counts, haemoglobin (Hb) concentration, packed cell volume (PCV), platelet counts, neutrophils,
eosinophils, lymphocytes, monocytes and basophils counts were determined. The mean corpuscular volume
(MCV), the mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were
also determined. The RBC, WBC, MCH and neutrophil values were higher (P<0.05) in female than male goats.
However, the platelet, MCV, eosinophil and monocyte values were higher (P<0.05) in male than female goats. The
PCV, Hb, MCHC, lymphocytes and basophil values were comparable (P>0.05) in both sexes. The variations may be
due to breed idiosyncrasies or inherent sex differences among male and female Sahel goats. The haematological
values obtained in this study were significant, but did not differ from the normal values for caprine species. In
conclusion, sex significantly influenced the RBC, WBC, MCV, MCH, platelet, neutrophil, eosinophil and monocyte
values in this study.
Keywords: Haemogram, Maiduguri, Nigeria, Sahel Goats, Sex
Received: 22-13- 2014 Accepted: 02-06-2015
Introduction
Goat is one of the small ruminants that are in high
demand for meat, milk and ritual sacrifices (Bourn et
al., 1994). Goats are renowned for their tolerance as
they survive in most environments. Nigeria has the
largest population (34.5 millions) of goats in Africa
and there are three major breeds namely; Sahel, Red
Sokoto and west African dwarf. Sahel goats are
mostly found in the north eastern part of Nigeria and
along frontiers with Niger Republic (Bourn et al.,
1994; Daramola et al., 2005).
The Sahel or West African long-legged goat
resembles the West African Dwarf in coat colour
except for its long twisted horn, long leg and its
larger size. The ear is usually short and horizontal,
but sometimes moderately long in the female and
the commonest colour is white pied with black or
brown or self coloured (Bourn et al., 1994). The
breed is adapted to the arid sub-Saharan savanna
region and does not thrive well in humid areas
(Devendra & Burns, 1970).
Blood being a fluid tissue is essential for the survival
of multicellular organisms (Jain, 1986). The
importance of determining the haematological
values of domestic farm animals has been well
documented (Oduye & Adadevoh, 1976; Anosa &
Isoun, 1978; Opara et al., 2010). Haematology is
pivotal to clinical diagnosis, surgical intervention and
responses to therapy (Coles, 1986; Biu et al., 2009;
Yaqub et al., 2013).
Several factors (sex, breed, physiologic status,
nutrition, age, genetics, stress, disease, management
system, location and season) are known to affect
haematological values in domestic animals (Anosa &
Isoun, 1978; Coles, 1986; Egbe-Nwiyi, 1995; Adejinmi
et al., 2000; Daramola et al., 2005; Addass et al.,
2010). Various reports have underlined the emerging

Sokoto Journal of Veterinary Sciences, Volume 13 (Number 2). August, 2015
55
observation that it may be difficult to formulate a
universal haematologic profile for indigenous goats
due to interplay of the aforementioned factors
(Daramola et al., 2005; Addass et al., 2010).
Sex has been reported to influence haematological
values in many animal species (Tambuwal et al.,
2002; Daramola et al., 2005; Olayemi et al., 2006;
Oladele et al., 2007). Much work has not been done
on the influence of sex on haematological values of
Sahel goats in the arid zone of Borno State.
Therefore, this study focused on the haematological
values of apparently healthy Sahel goats as
influenced by sex in Borno State, Nigeria.
Materials and methods
Fifty apparently healthy adult sahelian goats of both
sexes (25 each of male and female) were used in this
study. Female goats on estrus, pregnant or lactating
were not considered for the study.
Five mililitres (5ml) of blood was collected from the
jugular vein of each goat into ethylene diamine
tetracetate (EDTA) coated sample bottles for
haematology. The microhaematocrit and
cyanometheamoglobin methods (Coles, 1986) were
used to determine the Packed Cell Volume (PCV %)
and haemoglobin concentration (Hb g/dl)
respectively. The Red Blood Cell (RBC) (x 106/µl) and
White Blood Cell (WBC x 103/µl) and platelets (x
105/µl) counts were done by haemocytometry
(Brown, 1976; Dacie & Lewis, 1991).
The mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration
(MCHC) representing the percentage of haemoglobin
in one deciliter (dl) of packed red blood cell,
expressed as percentage (%), mean cell volume
(MCV) as the average of a single cell expressed in
femtolitres (fl) and the mean corpuscular
haemoglobin (MCH) expressed as the average
haemoglobin concentration in picogram (pg) of a
single red blood cell were all determined (Bush,
1975; Jain, 1986). Values obtained were expressed
as mean ± standard deviation (SD) and the paired
students “t” test used to compare variations among
sex of goats examined (Graphpad Instat 2003).
Results
The haemogram of 50 clinically normal Nigerian
Sahel goats was studied, and the results obtained
are presented in Table 1. The RBC, WBC, Platelets,
nuetrophils, eosinophils and monocytes counts of
male goats varied significantly (P<0.05) compared
with those of the female goats; however Hb, PCV,
lymphocytes and basophils of male goats did not
vary significantly (P>0.05) from those of female
goats. Also, the haematological indices of MCV and
MCH were significantly different (P<0.05) in both
sexes while the MCHC showed no significant
(P>0.05) variation among sexes.
Table 1: Mean (± SD) haematological values of apparently healthy adult Sahelian goats examined
in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria
SEX
Parameters (units)
Male (n=25)
Female (n=25)
Normal range of values⃰
RBC (x 106/µl)
10.0 ± 2.8a
13.5± 17.8b
8.0 - 18.0
Hb (g/dl)
9.5 ± 2.8a
9.8 ± 3.9a
8.0 - 12.0
PCV (%)
31.9 ±11.5a
32.6 ± 7.3a
22.0 - 38.0
WBC ( x103/µl)
9.9 ± 3.7 a
11.9± 3.5b
4.0-13.0
Platelets (x 103/µl)
6.8 ± 3.7a
5.2± 4.8b
3.0 - 6.0
MCV (fl)
24. 1 ± 2.8a
22.1± 1.8b
16.0 – 25.0
MCH (pg)
8.1 ± 1.6a
9.9± 2.3b
5.2 - 8.0
MCHC (g/dl)
35.2± 19.1a
33.6± 19.6a
30.0 – 36.0
Absolute DLC (x 10/µl)
Neutrophils (mature)
3629.3± 1708.1a
5677.3± 3015.8b
1,200- 7,200
Lymphocytes
5393.2 ± 1923.1a
5392.3± 2383.2a
2,000-9,000
Eosinophils
570.9± 367.6a
487.6± 262.6b
50 – 650
Monocytes
671.3± 1099.8a
489.9 ± 293.1b
0 - 550
Basophils
58.3± 187.2a
57.2 ± 101.1a
0 - 120
Key: n = no. of goats examined, DLC = differential leucocyte counts
Values in rows with different superscripts differ significantly (p<0.05)
⃰ Jain, 1986

Sokoto Journal of Veterinary Sciences, Volume 13 (Number 2). August, 2015
56
Discussion
The haematological values obtained in this study
were within the normal range for goats (Jain, 1986).
We observed a significantly higher RBC values in
female than in male goats. This agreed with the
findings of Holman & Dew (1966) in goats, Babeker
& Elmansoury (2013) in Sudanese Desert goats, but
differ from the findings of Wilkins & Hodges (1962)
who reported higher values in male than female
goats, while Addass et al. (2010), Opara et al. (2010)
and Obua et al. (2012) reported no significant
difference between male and female RBC in West
African Dwarf goats and Red Sokoto goats. The mean
PCV in this study were comparable in both male and
female goats and it agreed with the reports of
Wilkins & Hodges (1962), Igbokwe et al. (1991),
Daramola et al. (2005), Adamu et al. (2010) and
Opara et al. (2010), but is in disagreement with the
findings of Tambuwal et al. (2002) and Okonkwo et
al. (2011) who reported higher values in male Red
Sokoto goats.
Mean Hb values in both sexes showed no significant
variation and is in consonance with the values
reported by Egbe-Nwiyi et al. (2000), Tambuwal et
al. (2002), Opara et al. (2010) and Babeker &
Elmansoury (2013). Significantly higher mean MCV
values were observed in male goats in this study
when compared with the female goats. This did not
agree with the observations of Wilkins & Hodges
(1962) who reported higher values for female than
male goats and Obua et al. (2012) who reported no
significant difference. But agreed with the findings of
Opara et al. (2010) and Babeker & Elmansoury
(2013). The mean MCH values in the female was
significantly higher than that of the male and this
was in consonance with the finding of Wilkins &
Hodges (1962). Babeker & Elmansoury (2013)
reported a significant higher MCH values for male
than female goats, while Opara et al. (2010)
observed no significant variation in both sexes. The
mean MCHC values in this study which were
comparable in both sexes were in agreement with
previous studies (Wilkins & Hodges, 1962; Opara et
al., 2010; Obua et al., 2012).
The RBC, PCV, Hb, MCV, MCH and MCHC values help
to determine and classify anaemia (Jain, 1986). The
mean platelet counts which were higher in male
than female goats are involved in maintaining
haemostasis as they help to preserve vascular
integrity (Jain, 1986). The mean WBC counts were
significantly higher in female than in male goats and
this agreed with the reports of previous workers
(Tambuwal et al., 2002; Babeker & Elmansoury,
2013; Haldar, 2012; Njidda et al., 2013), but is in
contrast to the observations of Egbe-Nwiyi et al.
(2000) who recorded higher values in male goats and
Daramola et al. (2005) who reported no sex effect on
the WBC of West African Dwarf goats. The
neutrophil counts which was significantly higher in
female goats were in consonance with the findings
of Tambuwal et al. (2002), Daramola et al. (2005),
Opara et al. (2010) and Babeker & Elmansoury
(2013), but ran counter to the findings of Egbe-Nwiyi
et al. (2000), although the authors worked on Red
Sokoto and Borno White breeds.
The lymphocyte counts in both sexes were
comparable and differ from that previously reported
by Egbe-Nwiyi et al. (2000), Tambuwal et al. (2002),
Daramola et al. (2005) and Opara et al. (2010), but
agreed with the observations of Obua et al. (2012)
and Habibu et al. (2014) in West African Dwarf and
Red Sokoto goats respectively. Eosinophil and
monocyte counts which were significantly higher in
the male goats in the present study agreed with
Babeker & Elmansoury (2013) who reported higher
eosinophil values in male but higher monocyte
values in female. There is no significant variation in
the basophil values in both sexes and this is in
harmony with the reports of several authors (Egbe-
Nwiyi et al., 2000; Opara et al., 2010; Babeker &
Elmansoury, 2013; Obua et al., 2012; Njidda et al.,
2013). Circulating leucocytes represent the outcome
of the dynamic production of bone marrow, the
release of cells to the peripheral circulation and the
storage in different organs or pools (Yaqub et al.,
2013). They play an important role in immunity and
defense against foreign invaders (Ganong, 2005).
The variations observed between haematological
parameters in this study as influenced by sex may be
due to inherent sex differences among male and
female Sahel goats (Addass et al., 2010) while, the
variations observed in this study and those reported
by other authors, could be due to differences in
breed, species, age, climate, season, blood collection
procedure, animal housing, nutrition and subclinical
illness (Egbe-Nwiyi, 1995; Daramola et al., 2005).
In conclusion, this study showed remarkable
influence of sex on the RBC, WBC, MCV, MCH,
platelets, neutrophils, eosinophils and monocytes
values of Sahel goats in the arid zone of Borno State.
These variations may be attributed to breed
idiosyncrasies or inherent sex differences among
male and female Sahel goats.

Sokoto Journal of Veterinary Sciences, Volume 13 (Number 2). August, 2015
57
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