Plasma amino acid abnormalities in calves with diarrhea

Since few studies have been published investigating plasma amino acid abnormalities in calves with illnesses, the aim of this study was to examine plasma amino acid abnormalities in calves with diarrhea. Forty-three Holstein calves aged 10.9 +/- 5.6 days old were used for this study. Thirty-one of the 43 calves exhibited clinical signs of diarrhea without severe acidemia. The other 12 healthy calves were used as the control. Concentrations of plasma essential amino acids, non-essential amino acids, branched-chain amino acids, glucogenic amino acids, and ketogenic amino acids in diarrheic calves with hypoaminoacidemia were significantly lower than those in healthy calves. No significant differences were observed between diarrheic calves with normoaminoacidemia and healthy calves when looking at these parameters.