Serum lipid and lipoprotein profile of Asian tortoise (Agrionemys horsfieldi) in prehibernation state

The Asian tortoise (Agrionemys horsfieldi), which now has a worldwide distribution, originates from Iran, Pakistan, West China, Kazakstan, Turkmenia, and Russia. Because of the increasing popularity of this animal as a domestic pet and its presence in many zoological gardens, knowledge of its physiological characteristics at different stages of life is important. In this regard, serum lipid and lipoprotein profiles of Asian tortoise were measured just before hibernation. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein of 16 tortoises of both sexes. Total cholesterol (TC), phospholipid (PL), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured chemically, very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) was calculated as an estimation of one fifth of triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was determined on the basis of Friedewald's formula, and total lipid was calculated from the summation of TG, TC, and PL. PL and TC comprised 79 and 21% of total lipid in the male and 85 and 14% in the female, respectively. TG level was low in both sexes. Moreover, approximately 86 and 12% of TC were carried through LDL and HDL, respectively. Before hibernation, PL and LDL-C are the major lipid and cholesterol fractions of serum, respectively.