The Oxidative Stress Markers of Horses—the Comparison with Other Animals and the Influence of Exercise and Disease

Abstract

Diacron-reactive oxygen metabolite (d-ROM) and biological antioxidant potential (BAP) levels in the serum of horses were measured (ponies, <i>n</i> = 15; thoroughbred, <i>n</i> = 31; other full-sized horses, <i>n</i> = 7). The mean d-ROM levels in horses were significantly higher (<i>p</i> < 0.001) than those in dairy cattle (<i>n</i> = 25) and dogs (<i>n</i> = 31). However, d-ROM levels in horses were lower than the standard levels reported in humans. When d-ROM and BAP levels were plotted graphically, the points for horses with a disease (ringbone in 1 Japanese sports horse, cellulitis in 1 thoroughbred, melanoma in 1 Lipizzaner) fell outside the group of points for other (non-diseased) horses. A similar separation was seen (using data from other authors) for a horse with <i>Rhodococcus equi</i>, a horse following castration surgery, and a mare following delivery. These results, comparing horses, other animals, and humans, are interesting from the standpoint of comparative medicine, and they contribute to the sparse literature available on d-ROM and BAP levels in animals. Because the level of d-ROM and BAP levels were changed depending on the situation of health, those indexes are promising as indices of health in horses.