Investigation of Dried Blood Spot Cards for Fatty Acid Analysis Using Porcine Blood

Veterinary Medicine International · 2021 · 8 citations

• Medicine
• Chemistry
• Biochemistry

-test and determine if DBS samples were similar to traditional whole blood samples. Of the 30 fatty acids and fatty acid groups with measurable concentrations, only four individual fatty acids, behenic acid, omega-3 docosapentaenoic acid, nervonic acid, and adrenic acid, had statistical differences. Most of these differences were minor and could be due to analytical errors or contamination. Comparisons between sample types found similar concentrations of key omega fatty acids and PUFAs and support the use of DBS collection as a less invasive method of blood collection and fatty acid analysis.

Comparison of African savanna elephant ( <i>Loxodonta africana</i> ) fatty acid profiles in whole blood, whole blood dried on blood spot cards, serum, and plasma

PeerJ · 2021 · 11 citations

• Biology
• Physiology
• Medicine

BACKGROUND: African elephants in managed care have presented differences in the balance between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, a situation primarily thought to be due to dietary differences between the managed animals and their free-ranging counterparts. Because of this, circulating fatty acid status is included in routine monitoring of elephant health. A method of blood collection that requires only a few drops of whole blood, dried on filter paper (DBS) and can be used for analyzing full fatty acid profiles offers advantages in clinical application. METHODS: This study compared the use of whole blood, and whole blood DBS, serum or plasma for use in evaluating circulating fatty acid composition in African savannah elephants. Samples from six African elephants (two males and four females) were collected during the same week at the NC Zoo, Asheboro, NC. RESULTS: Results found only 2 of 36 individual fatty acids and none of the 10 fatty acid groupings were different when comparing the four blood fraction sample types to each other with Mann-Whitney U-Test pairwise comparisons. Myristic acid (14:0) was lower in the DBS samples than in whole blood, serum, and plasma and pentadecaenoic acid (15:1) was slightly more concentrated in DBS and whole blood. DISCUSSION: Results indicate that fatty acid profile of serum, plasma, whole blood, and DBS are comparable in African elephants. The DBS method offers advantages in acquisition and handling and may be preferable to other methods in both routine health assessment of captive animals and field research on free ranging animals.