Characteristics of sudanese camel-hair fibres under subtropical desert condition

AbstractThe study assessed the quality and variability of camel hair fibres in arid regions of Egypt. Raw camel-hair samples were collected from fifteen Sudanese camels divided into seven males (414.60  ± 38.19 kg, BW) and eight females (401.67 ± 26.76 kg BW), and the study investigated the influences of animal sex on both the physical and chemical traits of camel-hair fibers. The relationships among physical properties and both mineral and amino acid content were studied. Camel’s se x had no significant effect on any of the studied traits including fibre diameter (FD), prickle factor (PF), medullated fibre (MF), staple length (SL) and staple strength (SS). In the meantime, no significant differences were found between males and females in fibers’ minerals contents except pota ssium, where fibres of females had significantly higher potassium content than those of males. For amino acids contents in camel fibres, camel sex had a significant effect only on glutamic acid, since fibres of males showed higher (P <  0.05) content than females. Fibre diameter had positive (P <  0.01) correlations with prickle factor (r = 0.83) and medullated fibres (r = 0.73). Zinc content in camel fibres was positively correlated with fibre diameter (r = 0.57;P <  0.05) and medullated fibres (r = 0.73;P <  0.01). Moreover, a significant (negative correlation coefficientP <  0.05) was found between fibre diameter and both sulfur and p...
Source: Tropical Animal Health and Production - Category: Veterinary Research Source Type: research