Evaluation of integrated biomarker panels for detection of subclinical physiological alterations in dairy goats

Subclinical disorders in food-producing livestock remain one of the most important issues for veterinarians, since there is no clear clinical picture of the disease despite changes in physiology. The objective of this research was to assess the diagnostic significance of integrating of biochemical, inflammatory, and oxidative biomarkers to detect subclinical disorders in dairy goats under field conditions. Forty-eight lactating goats were grouped according to the results of clinical examination and blood test as healthy and subclinical. The concentrations of acylcarnitine, haptoglobin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), malondialdehyde (MDA), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were determined in serum. Subclinical goats had higher concentrations of all biomarkers except GPx, which showed lower values (P<0.05). This indicates changes in metabolism, inflammation, and oxidative status at the subclinical stage of the disease. ROC curve analysis revealed moderate diagnostic ability for single biomarkers (AUC 0.79 – 0.86), however, the combination of biomarkers had high diagnostic ability (AUC = 0.93). Thus, the integrated use of biomarkers may serve as a supportive diagnostic approach for identifying subclinical physiological alterations in dairy goats. From a veterinary medicine perspective, this method may contribute to improved health monitoring and identification of animals with physiological disturbances under field conditions.