Haematological and serum biochemistry profile of the juvenile wild African giant rat (Cricetomys gambianus, Waterhouse – 1840) in Nsukka, South-Eastern Nigeria – a preliminary investigation

Figures & data

Table 1. The erythrocytic profile of juvenile wild African giant rat (C. gambianus).

Erythrocytic parameters	Means ± SD (n = 18)	Minimum and maximum values
Packed cell volume (%)	34.87 ± 2.92	31.00–39.00
Red blood cell count (×10^6/µl)	9.33 ± 2.57	6.26–13.40
Haemoglobin concentration (g/dl)	10.27 ± 0.86	9.26–12.63
Mean corpuscular volume (fl)	40.23 ± 12.86	25.37–58.27
Mean corpuscular haemoglobin (pg)	11.91 ± 2.79	7.78–16.82
Mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (g/dl)	29.23 ± 4.03	23.74–37.15

Table 2. The leukocytic profile of juvenile wild African giant rat (C. gambianus).

Leukocytic parameters	Mean ± SD (n = 18)	Minimum and maximum values
Total leukocyte count (×10^3/µl)	7.74 ± 0.53	7.00–9.05
Band neutrophil (%)	0.87 ± 1.06	0.00–3.00
Segmented neutrophil (%)	58.53 ± 3.76	52.00–67.00
Lymphocyte (%)	34.53 ± 3.14	30.00–40.00
Monocyte (%)	1.87 ± 1.13	0.00–4.00
Eosinophil (%)	3.67 ± 1.84	0.00–6.00
Basophil (%)	0.93 ± 0.88	0.00–2.00
Band neutrophil (×10^3/µl)	0.07 ± 0.08	0.00–0.23
Segmented neutrophil (×10^3/µl)	4.54 ± 0.32	4.16–5.34
Lymphocyte (×10^3/µl)	2.69 ± 0.33	2.31–3.20
Monocyte (×10^3/µl)	0.14 ± 0.09	0.00–0.30
Eosinophil (×10^3/µl)	0.26 ± 0.12	0.00–0.48
Basophil (×10^3/µl)	0.07 ± 0.07	0.00–0.16

Table 3. The serum biochemistry profile of juvenile wild African giant rat (C. gambianus).

Serum biochemistry parameters	Mean ± SD (n = 18)	Minimum and maximum values
Alanine aminotransferase (U/l)	18.09 ± 6.01	11.91–25.49
Aspartate aminotransferase (U/l)	76.15 ± 24.98	54.58–128.54
Alkaline phosphatase (U/l)	102.08 ± 9.08	83.18–111.82
Total cholesterol (mg/dl)	62.86 ± 42.86	20.00–140.00
Total proteins (g/dl)	4.70 ± 0.36	4.03–5.18
Albumin (g/dl)	2.08 ± 0.19	1.77–2.32
Globulin (g/dl)	2.64 ± 0.27	2.26–3.08
Total bilirubin (mg/dl)	3.71 ± 0.28	3.46–4.32
BUN (mg/dl)	2.73 ± 0.40	2.34–3.11
Creatinine (mg/dl)	0.82 ± 0.25	0.50–1.00

Table 4. Comparison of the erythrocytic profile of the male and female juvenile wild African giant rat (C. gambianus).

Erythrocytic parameters Mean ± SD, with minimum and maximum values in brackets
	Males (n = 8)	Females (n = 10)
Packed cell volume (%)	35.29 ± 2.36 (33.00–39.00)	34.50 ± 3.46 (31.00–39.00)
Red blood cell count (×10^6/µl)	8.95 ± 3.14 (6.35–13.40)	9.66 ± 2.13 (6.26–12.45)
Haemoglobin concentration (g/dl)	10.04 ± 0.57 (9.26–10.53)	10.47 ± 1.04 (9.68–12.63)
Mean corpuscular volume (fl)	43.65 ± 14.83 (25.37–58.27)	37.23 ± 9.75 (27.31–49.52)
Mean corpuscular haemoglobin (pg)	12.68 ± 2.43 (9.43–15.24)	11.25 ± 3.07 (7.78–16.82)
Mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (g/dl)	28.85 ± 4.45 (23.74–33.97)	29.57 ± 3.91 (26.16–37.15)

Table 5. Comparison of the leukocytic profile of the male and female juvenile wild African giant rat (C. gambianus).

Leukocytic parameters Mean ± SD, with minimum and maximum values in brackets
	Males (n = 8)	Females (n = 10)
Total leukocyte count (×10^3/µl)	7.53 ± 0.35 (7.15–8.10)	7.93 ± 0.60 (7.00–9.05)
Band neutrophil (%)	1.00 ± 1.41 (0.00–3.00)	0.75 ± 0.71 (0.00–0.25)
Segmented neutrophil (%)	59.71 ± 2.06 (57.00–62.00)	57.50 ± 4.69 (52.00–67.00)
Lymphocyte (%)	33.57 ± 2.94 (30.00–37.00)	35.38 ± 3.25 (32.00–40.00)
Monocyte (%)	1.57 ± 0.53 (1.00–2.00)	2.13 ± 1.46 (0.00–4.00)
Eosinophil (%)	3.86 ± 1.77 (1.00–6.00)	3.50 ± 2.00 (0.00–6.00)
Basophil (%)	1.14 ± 0.90 (0.00–2.00)	0.75 ± 0.89 (0.00–2.00)
Band neutrophil (×10^3/µl)	0.08 ± 0.11 (0.00–0.23)	0.06 ± 0.06 (0.00–0.18)
Segmented neutrophil (×10^3/µl)	4.49 ± 0.24 (4.22–4.86)	4.58 ± 0.39 (4.16–5.34)
Lymphocyte (×10^3/µl)	2.53 ± 0.23 (2.34–2.84)	2.83 ± 0.35 (2.31–3.20)
Monocyte (×10^3/µl)	0.10 ± 0.04 (0.07–0.16)	0.17 ± 0.11 (0.00–0.30)
Eosinophil (×10^3/µl)	0.25 ± 0.08 (0.08–0.30)	0.28 ± 0.16 (0.00–0.48)
Basophil (×10^3/µl)	0.09 ± 0.07 (0.00–0.16)	0.06 ± 0.07 (0.00–0.15)

Table 6. Comparison of the serum biochemistry profile of the male and female juvenile African giant rat (C. gambianus).

Serum biochemistry parameters Mean ± SD, with minimum and maximum values in brackets
	Males (n = 8)	Females (n = 10)
Alanine aminotransferase (U/l)^a	13.33 ± 1.24 (11.91–15.64)	23.04 ± 4.42 (13.11–25.49)
Aspartate aminotransferase (U/l)	66.91 ± 13.31 (54.58–91.56)	85.40 ± 31.23 (54.58–128.54)
Alkaline phosphatase (U/l)	101.30 ± 12.69 (83.18–111.82)	102.86 ± 4.011 (98.18–107.73)
Total cholesterol (mg/dl)	91.43 ± 39.76 (40.00–140.00)	34.29 ± 22.25 (20.00–80.00)
Total proteins (g/dl)	4.60 ± 0.51 (4.03–5.18)	4.80 ± 0.00 (4.80–4.80)
Albumin (g/dl)*	1.93 ± 0.10 (1.77–2.05)	2.22 ± 0.15 (1.91–2.32)
Globulin (g/dl)	2.66 ± 0.36 (2.26–3.08)	2.62 ± 0.18 (2.48–2.89)
Total bilirubin (mg/dl)	3.83 ± 0.30 (3.46–4.32)	3.58 ± 0.21 (3.46–3.89)
BUN* (mg/dl)	2.45 ± 0.29 (2.34–3.11)	3.00 ± 0.29 (2.34–3.11)
Creatinine (mg/dl)	0.76 ± 0.27 (0.50–1.00)	0.86 ± 0.24 (0.50–1.00)

Note: Asterisk superscript on any parameter indicates significant difference between males and females (p < .05).