Baseline Hematological and Biochemical Reference Values for Wild Mus musculus and Rattus rattus From Southern Punjab, Pakistan.

Abstract

Baseline hematological and oxidative stress data for wild rodents are scarce despite their importance in wildlife health assessment and disease surveillance. This study aimed to generate baseline hematological and markers of oxidative stress reference values for wild Mus musculus and Rattus rattus trapped from southern Punjab, Pakistan, and to evaluate sex-related differences in these physiological parameters. Twenty-seven Mus musculus (14 males, 13 females) and 28 Rattus rattus (18 males, 10 females) were trapped from Dera Ghazi Khan District in Punjab, Pakistan between February 2022 and January 2023. Complete blood count was determined using an automated hematology analyzer, while superoxide dismutase, catalase, and malondialdehyde levels were measured in the heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys. Sex-wise comparisons were performed using two-sample t-tests (p < 0.05). Body weight did not differ significantly between sexes in either species (p > 0.05). No significant sex-related differences were observed in the hematological parameters of Mus musculus. In Rattus rattus, males had significantly higher red blood cell counts (p = 0.008) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (p = 0.05), whereas females had higher white blood cell counts (p = 0.02). Male Mus musculus exhibited significantly higher renal malondialdehyde levels (p = 0.002), while male Rattus rattus showed higher cardiac malondialdehyde levels (p = 0.006) and females exhibited higher hepatic superoxide dismutase activity (p = 0.04). These findings provide baseline physiological reference values for wild rodents and will support future ecological and disease surveillance studies. Larger studies are required to establish robust species- and sex-specific reference intervals.