Comparative Anti-inflammatory Effects of Insulin and Flunixin on Acute-Phase Responses and Cardiovascular Biomarkers During Inflammatory Phase in Miniature Donkeys.

The objective of this study was to comparatively evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of intravenous administration of insulin (in different doses) and flunixin on physiological variables, acute-phase responses, and cardiovascular biomarkers during inflammatory phase which was induced by Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) serotype O55:B5 in miniature donkeys. A total of twenty-four clinically healthy male adult miniature donkeys aged 5 ± 1 year and weighing 120 ± 10 kg were studied. The animals were assigned randomly to four experimental groups (three treatment and one positive control groups). Six hours after induction of inflammatory phase (by 20 ng kg LPS), donkeys in groups Insln 1.5, Insln 3, and Flnx received insulin at 1.5 IU kg, insulin at 3 IU kg, and flunixin at 2.2 mg kg, respectively. Animals in the positive control group were assigned to receive LPS without any anti-inflammatory drugs. We have shown that serum concentrations of cardiovascular, acute-phase proteins and cytokines were increased during inflammatory phase in miniature donkeys. Our results revealed that insulin at 3 IU kg as well as flunixin at 2.2 mg kg can improve almost all of the physiological variables and hematobiochemical variables (including serum concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interferon-gamma, haptoglobin, serum amyloid A, cardiac troponin I, hemocysteine, white blood cell, and packed cell volume) after 24 hours. Unlike insulin at 1.5 IU kg, insulin at 3 IU kg may be considered useful for inflammatory conditions in miniature donkeys.