Abstract: Objective To establish the influence of different sampling methods and gender on 11 biochemical indicators in Wistar rat. Methods The blood of adult Wistar rats (17 males and 17 females) were collected from caudal vein, abdominal aorta and inferior vena cava, then 11 biochemical indicators including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase(AST), urea nitrogen (BUN), glucose (GLU), total protein (TP), albumin(ALB), creatinine (Cr), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were analyzed by 7180E Automatic Biochemical Analyzer. Means comparison were performed byt-test or Mann-Whitney U-test depending on the distribution of the data. A value < 0.05 was regarded as statistical significance.Results In female rats, significant variation was observed on the value of GLU, TP and Cr between caudal vein and inferior vena cava serums; and significant difference was observed on the values of GLU, TP, ALB, Cr, TG, TC and HDL-C between caudal vein and abdominal aorta serums. In male rats, the value of ALT, AST, GLU, TP and Cr were significantly different between caudal vein and inferior vena cava serums; and significant difference was observed on the values of ALT, AST, GLU, TP, ALB, TG, TC, HDL-C and LDL-C between caudal vein and abdominal aorta serums. Between male and female rats, the value of AST, TC and LDL-C were significantly different in caudal vein serum; and significant variation on the value of TP, ALB, Cr, TG, TC and LDL-C were found; and the value of TP, ALB, Cr, TC and LDL-C were statistically different. Conclusion Researchers should pay more attention to the variation of biochemical indicators caused by the different sampling methods and gender in Wistar rat.

Key words: caudal vein, abdominal aorta, inferior vena cava, biochemical indicator, wistar rat