Seasonal changes in the metabolic clearance rate of cortisol in the adult male sand rat (Psammomys obesus).
Metabolic clearance rate (MCR) of cortisol was measured in the adult male sand rat (Psammomys obesus) trapped live throughout the year in the region of Béni-Abbès in the Algerian Sahara Desert. Cortisol MCR exhibited marked annual variations which paralleled those of plasma concentrations of cortisol: it was highest in autumn, decreased in winter, rose again in early March, and was minimal in April and June. These data, taken together with previous results, suggest that the production rate of cortisol in the sand rat is lower in early summer than in autumn.
D000818:Animals; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000378:metabolism*; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008657:Metabolic Clearance Rate; D012621:Seasons
D006854:Hydrocortisone