Erythrocyte glutathione level in relation to haemoglobin type in Rajasthan desert sheep

Concentrations of reduced glutathione (GSH) in erythrocytes were determined in 344 adult ewes of four sheep breeds (Marwari, Chokla, Jaisalmeri, and Magra) indigenous to the Rajasthan desert, India. Comparisons were made between the numbers of high GSH (GSHIl) and low GSH (GSHh) type animals and between the numbers of GSHH and GSHh animals of A, AB, and B haemoglobin type. In all, 77 % Jaisalmeri, 75 % Chokla, 67 % Marwari, and 52 % Magra animals were GSHh type. Chokla animals of both GSH types had the lowest mean erythrocyte GSH levels of all breeds tested. No effect of haemoglobin type on erythrocyte GSH level was apparent in the tested sheep of either GSH type.

Water metabolism in desert sheep. Effects of various degrees of water restriction on the distribution of body water in Marwari sheep

The distribution of water in the different body compartments of eight sheep of the Marwari breed was determined after imposing the following treatments: watering ad lib., restriction to 75%, 50%, and 25% respectively of normal daily water requirements (each treatment of 5 days' duration, with a 7-day normal drinking regime between treatments), and complete deprivation of water for 3 days. The total body water, the total blood and plasma volumes, and the extracellular, intracellular, and interstitial fluid volumes of the animals began to decrease when the water intake was reduced below 75% of the normal daily requirement. A reduction to 25% normal was similar in its effect to complete deprivation, at which the plasma volume fell by 43% and the extracellular fluid volume by 33%. The findings clearly point to an unusual ability of these animals to maintain circulation even when faced with considerable haemoconcentration.