Abstract

Aim: The study was aimed to reveal the effects of high biological value whey on serum electrolyte levels of lambs.

Method and materials: Weaned 3 months old and 24 healthy male Merino lambs kept in a farm were randomly divided into 2 equal groups. The lambs were fed with lamb grower feed as concentrate feed and wheat straw as roughage. The control group was given ad libitum tap water as drinking water. Drinking water was prepared by adding 6.56 g of whey powder to 100 L of tap water and given to the experimental group ad libitum. The trial period was 45 days. On days 0 and 30 of the following 30 days, blood was collected from the vena jugularis of all lambs. Serum potassium and sodium analyzes were performed using a fully automatic dry chemistry analyzer.

Results: The serum potassium concentrations of the 30^th day in the control and experimental groups were found significantly lower than those of the 0^th day (p<0.05). Serum sodium concentrations were not significantly different between days 0 and 30 in the control and experimental groups. Serum potassium and sodium concentrations were not significantly different between the control and experimental groups, neither at day 0 nor at day 30.

Conclusion: It was concluded that essentially, high serum potassium levels are also not a desirable outcome due to its harmful effects on the heart. 

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