Biochemical and Endocrinological Parameters in Animals Matrices

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About this Research Topic

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Background

The determination of biochemical and hormonal blood parameters is important to evaluate information related to nutrition, sex, age, health, and physiological status (pregnancy and lactation) in animals. The various parameters can be altered in pathological conditions or following contact of the animal with drugs or environmental toxicants. Their monitoring is therefore also important to assess the animal's state of health. For some species, especially wild or protected ones, monitoring biochemical and endocrinological parameters is very difficult. In recent years, matrices such as feces, urine and saliva, have been used to assay these parameters; these matrices are easily available without affecting the animal welfare and without ethically damaging the animal. Several assay methods are available for the analysis of these parameters in blood, while they are lacking in other matrices such as fragments of tissues, feces, urine, saliva, milk or even in cellular extracts and culture media.

Study of animal biochemical and endocrinological parameters according to season, age, sex, pregnancy, nutritional supplement, drug treatment or exposure to toxic substances, is a topic of high interest for the scientific community. The most common, and by far the most developed method for assessing these parameters, is to measure them in blood. However, this method has many limitations for example taking blood from wild animals can be very dangerous, even impossible, stressful or, in the case of small laboratory animals, the volume of blood is a limiting factor.

In the last few years, non-invasive measurement techniques have been developed intensively to assess the concentration of biochemical parameters and their metabolites in urine, faeces and saliva. These biological materials can be obtained from animals without stressful procedures. Actually, several methods are available for the determination of these parameters in human matrices, but there are species-specific differences, which makes it impossible to transfer methods developed on one species to another, even between closely related species. Hence the aim of this research topic is to publish assay methods for these parameters in matrices different than blood and validate commercially available human kits for their use in animal matrices. This topic should require an in-depth study and improve veterinary research.

The aim of this research topic is to publish assay methods for these parameters in matrices different than blood and validate commercially available human kits for their use in animal matrices. In particular, potential topics, include but are not limited to the following:
- Studies on the monitor of clinical–biochemical-endocrinological parameters and their metabolites, in different animal species and matrices.
- Validation of analytical methods for clinical–biochemical-endocrinological parameters in different animal matrices.
- Studies about the monitor of physiological-clinical–biochemical-endocrinological parameters after nutritional supplements used in animal feed.
- Studies about alteration of physiological-clinical–biochemical-endocrinological parameters in pathological conditions or following contact of the animal with drugs or environmental toxicants.

We are interested in the following types of manuscripts: Original Research articles, Review articles and Brief Research reports.

Keywords: Physiology, animal matrices, clinical biochemistry, oxidative stress, nutritional supplement, toxicology

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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