Effects on Glycemia in Goats after the Administration of Propylene Glycol and Glucocorticoids. A Clinical Trial

Abstract

Gestation toxemia in small ruminants is caused by a negative energy imbalance, because of the animal's energy requirements being greater than those provided by the feed. Propylene glycol and glucocorticoids are two types of drugs used as treatment for this disease since they provide an important source of energy for the animals and, in addition, stimulate gluconeogenesis. This clinical trial consisted of studying the difference between four groups of goats, one of which is the control group (group P0) to which no drug was administered, a group that was administered a dose (30 ml) of propylene glycol (group P1), a group that was administered a dose (0.4 ml) of glucocorticoids (group P2) and finally a group that was administered both drugs (group P3) in order to evaluate the persistence of glycemia. To carry out this study, seven samples were taken from the animals, the first sample was taken before applying the treatment while the other six were taken after applying the treatment. The result obtained concluded that the P1 group treated only with propylene glycol obtained a much greater increase in glucose and in less time than the other three groups, but in terms of glucose increase there were no significant results among the four groups.