Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32503233›Full record

ArticleAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI2020

May Salivary Chromogranin A Act as a Physiological Index of Stress in Transported Donkeys? A Pilot Study.

Francesca Dai, Emanuela Dalla Costa, Simona Cannas, Eugenio Ugo Luigi Heinzl, Michela Minero, Silvia Michela Mazzola

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 34% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Stress, Well-Being, and Reproduction in Wildlife.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026
    Review
  2. Welfare of equidae during transport.EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2022
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Francesca DaiDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-2983-4880
Emanuela Dalla CostaDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-5037-3759
Simona CannasDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-5665-7971
Eugenio Ugo Luigi HeinzlDirezione Sicurezza, Sostenibilità e Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via S. Sofia 9, 20122 Milano, Italy.
Michela MineroDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-8285-5501
Silvia Michela MazzolaDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-8131-4340
University of Milan · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Road transport is known to be a stressful animal husbandry procedure as it induces the activation of two main physiological stress-related pathways: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal cortex axis and the sympathetic-adrenal medulla axis. This preliminary study aimed to investigate whether salivary chromogranin A (CgA) concentration, known as a biomarker of the sympathetic activity system during psychological stress, may represent a novel physiological index of transportation-induced stress in donkeys. Nineteen Romagnolo donkeys, raised in groups on paddocks, were subject to two transportations, following the farm's routine procedures, for a mean duration of 64 min each on two consecutive days. Salivary samples were gently collected 15 min before and 15 min after each transportation. Salivary CgA was measured by a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test. Results showed that CgA salivary levels significantly decreased after both transportations. The physiological mechanisms underlying this result may be related to catestatin activity, a bioactive product of the proteolytic cleavage of CgA, that acts as an inhibitor of catecholamine release. This hypothesis requires further investigation, particularly considering the limited number of subjects involved in this preliminary study. The identification of a reliable and non-invasive stress-marker would represent a useful tool for improving farm animals' welfare in transport conditions.

Indexed as

chromogranin Adonkeysstresstransportwelfare

Identifiers

PMID32503233
PMCPMC7341495
OpenAlexW3033038983

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.