Serum and tissue enzyme profiles of goats

Serum enzyme activities of sorbitol dehydrogenase, glutamate dehydrogenase, gamma glutamyltransferase, alkaline phosphatase, aspartic aminotransferase, and creatine kinase, were measured in five clinically normal mixed-breed goats. Tissue activities of these enzymes were also measured in two goats. These basal serum values were then used to determine the response to treatment with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). The basal value for serum and hepatic tissue sorbitol dehydrogenase were appreciably greater for goats than previously reported for sheep and cattle. The change in the above serum enzymes after CCl4 treatment resembled that in sheep, but the amount of sorbitol dehydrogenase increase was less than that in sheep. This study established basal tissue and serum enzyme activity values and demonstrated the efficacy of the use of changes in serum S.D.H. and G.D.H. activity as indicators of acute hepatopathy in goats.