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Equine veterinary journal2021; 54(6); 1123-1132; doi: 10.1111/evj.13544

Characterisation of the oral glucose and sugar tolerance tests and the enteroinsular axis response in healthy adult donkeys.

Abstract: Insulin dysregulation (ID) is diagnosed in horses and ponies using oral glucose (OGTT) and oral sugar (OSTT) tolerance tests. The enteroinsular axis plays a major role in postprandial glucose disposal and insulin response in horses, ponies and foals. The insulin and incretin response to oral carbohydrate challenges has not been characterised in donkeys. Objective: (a) To characterise OGTT and OSTT, and (b) to assess the plasma incretin response to OGTT and OSTT in healthy donkeys. Methods: In vivo experiments. Methods: Six healthy adult female Andalusian donkeys were challenged with OGTT (1 g/kg glucose, 20% solution by nasogastric tube) and OSTT (0.45 mL/kg corn syrup orally by syringe) with a 1-week washout. Blood samples were collected for glucose (spectrophotometry), insulin (radioimmunoassay), glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP, ELISA) and active glucagon-like peptide-1 (aGLP-1, ELISA) determination over 6 hours. Curves were analysed and proxies calculated. Results: Glucose and insulin concentrations peaked at 180 minutes in OGTT, but at 300 and 150 minutes in OSTT, respectively. Plasma GIP concentrations increased in the OGTT and OSTT (peaked at 180 and 360 minutes, respectively), but aGLP-1 increased only in OGTT (240 minutes). Conclusions: Single breed, narrow age and sample, diet, season and not having donkeys with evidence of ID to provide clinical validation. Conclusions: Donkeys have a functional enteroinsular axis that is activated by enteral carbohydrates. Donkeys have evident endocrine differences with horses, supporting the validation of the OSTT and OGTT to assess insulin sensitivity in this species to avoid extrapolation from horses.
© 2021 The Authors. Equine Veterinary Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of EVJ Ltd.
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Publication Date: 2021-12-21 PubMed ID: 34897779DOI: 10.1111/evj.13544Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

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The research article, titled “Characterisation of the oral glucose and sugar tolerance tests and the enteroinsular axis response in healthy adult donkeys”, explores the effects of oral glucose and sugar tolerance tests on insulin regulation in donkeys, and how this contrasts with the same observations in horses and ponies.

Objective and Methods

  • The main goal of the study was to characterise an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and oral sugar tolerance test (OSTT), and also assess the plasma incretin response to these tests in healthy donkeys.
  • The experiments were carried out on six healthy female Andalusian donkeys. These animals were challenged with an OGTT, where they were given a specific dosage of glucose via a nasogastric tube, and an OSTT where they were administered corn syrup orally.
  • In order to assess the effects of these substances, blood samples were collected over 6 hours for analysis. The glucose, insulin, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), and active glucagon-like peptide-1 (aGLP-1) levels were determined using spectrophotometry, radioimmunoassay, and ELISA respectively.

Results

  • In the case of the OGTT, glucose and insulin peaked at 180 minutes, while they peaked at 300 and 150 minutes respectively in the OSTT.
  • Plasma GIP concentrations increased both during the OGTT and OSTT at different intervals – 180 minutes and 360 minutes respectively; aGLP-1 increased only during the OGTT at 240 minutes.

Conclusions

  • The study concludes that donkeys have a functional enteroinsular axis that activates when they are exposed to enteral carbohydrates.
  • Moreover, it shows that there are noticeable endocrine differences between donkeys and horses. This conclusion has significant implications for veterinarians and researchers in how they analyze insulin sensitivity in donkeys because these findings suggest that you can’t just simply extrapolate results from horses.
  • The limitation of the study is that its validity is restricted to a single breed of donkeys of a narrow age and sample range, and possibly affected by diet variability and seasonal changes. Moreover, this study did not include donkeys with insulin dysregulation (ID) which could provide clinical validation.

Cite This Article

APA
Mendoza FJ, Buzon-Cuevas A, Toribio RE, Perez-Ecija A. (2021). Characterisation of the oral glucose and sugar tolerance tests and the enteroinsular axis response in healthy adult donkeys. Equine Vet J, 54(6), 1123-1132. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.13544

Publication

Equine veterinary journal
ISSN: 2042-3306
NlmUniqueID: 0173320
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 54
Issue: 6
Pages: 1123-1132

Researcher Affiliations

Mendoza, Francisco J
  • Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain.
Buzon-Cuevas, Antonio
  • Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain.
Toribio, Ramiro E
  • Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Perez-Ecija, Alejandro
  • Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Blood Glucose
  • Equidae
  • Female
  • Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide 1
  • Glucose
  • Glucose Tolerance Test / veterinary
  • Horses
  • Incretins
  • Insulin

Grant Funding

  • Programa Operativo de Fondos FEDER Andalucu00eda (Spain)
  • Plan Propio de Investigacion from the University of Cordoba (Spain)

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Citations

This article has been cited 1 times.
  1. Mendoza FJ, Toribio RE, Perez-Ecija A. Metabolic and Endocrine Insights in Donkeys. Animals (Basel) 2024 Feb 10;14(4).
    doi: 10.3390/ani14040590pubmed: 38396558google scholar: lookup
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