Comparative serum fatty acid profiles of captive and free-ranging cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) in Namibia

dc.contributor.authorMienie, Lodewyk J.
dc.contributor.emailadrian.tordiffe@up.ac.zaen_ZA
dc.contributor.upauthorTordiffe, Adrian Stephen Wolferstan
dc.date.accessioned2016-12-05T10:03:51Z
dc.date.available2016-12-05T10:03:51Z
dc.date.issued2015en_ZA
dc.description.abstractCheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) are highly specialised large felids, currently listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red data list. In captivity, they are known to suffer from a range of chronic non-infectious diseases. Although low heterozygosity and the stress of captivity have been suggested as possible causal factors, recent studies have started to focus on the contribution of potential dietary factors in the pathogenesis of these diseases. Fatty acids are an important component of the diet, not only providing a source of metabolisable energy, but serving other important functions in hormone production, cellular signalling as well as providing structural components in biological membranes. To develop a better understanding of lipid metabolism in cheetahs, we compared the total serum fatty acid profiles of 35 captive cheetahs to those of 43 free-ranging individuals in Namibia using gas chromatograph mass spectrometry. The unsaturated fatty acid concentrations differed most remarkably between the groups, with all of the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, except arachidonic acid and hypogeic acid, detected at significantly lower concentrations in the serum of the free-ranging animals. The influence of age and sex on the individual fatty acid concentrations was less notable. This study represents the first evaluation of the serum fatty acids of free-ranging cheetahs, providing critical information on the normal fatty acid profiles of free-living, healthy individuals of this species. The results raise several important questions about the potential impact of dietary fatty acid composition on the health of cheetahs in captivity.en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipNorth-West University, the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, the Messerli Foundation (Switzerland) and the AfriCat Foundationen_ZA
dc.description.tableofcontentsThis xls file contains: • Total serum fatty acid profiles of 78 individual cheetahs.en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationTordiffe, A.S.W., Wachter, B., Heinrich, S.K, Reyers, F. and Mienie, F.J. (2016) Comparative serum fatty acid profiles of captive and free-ranging cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) in Namibia. PLoSONE. In pressen_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/58345
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherUniversity of Pretoria, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Department of Paraclinical Sciences.en_ZA
dc.rights© 2016 University of Pretoria, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Department of Paraclinical Sciences.en_ZA
dc.rights© 2016 Adrian S.W Tordiffe. Re-use permitted with attribution. See the suggested citation to this item
dc.subjectAcinonyx jubatusen_ZA
dc.subjectCheetahen_ZA
dc.subjectCaptiveen_ZA
dc.subjectTotal serum fatty acidsen_ZA
dc.subjectFree-rangingen_ZA
dc.subjectGC-MSen_ZA
dc.titleComparative serum fatty acid profiles of captive and free-ranging cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) in Namibiaen_ZA
dc.typeDataseten_ZA

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