PURPOSE: Acute mesenteric ischaemia (AMI) is one of the abdominal surgical emergencies with high mortality and morbidity and early diagnosis and treatment are of vital importance. We aimed to evaluate the usefulness of serum vaspin level as a potential biomarker for early diagnosis of AMI in an experimental animal model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty female Wistar-Albino rats were divided into 6 groups. Ischaemia groups (1, 3, 5) underwent SMA dissection and ligation, while control groups (2, 4, 6) did not. Blood and intestinal tissue samples were collected at 30 min, 2 h, and 6 h. Vaspin (ng/ml), TAS (Total antioxidant capacity, μmol Trolox equiv./L), TOS (Total oxidant capacity, μmol H RESULTS: Vaspin levels were compared at 30 min, 2 h, and 6 h in ischaemia and control groups. No significant difference was found at 30 min and 2 h (p >
0.05), but a significant increase was observed at 6 h (p <
0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between the Vaspin (ng/ml) measurements of the ischaemia groups at three different times (p <
0.05). The highest Vaspin (ng/ml) value was obtained at the 6th hour and the lowest at the 30th minute. CONCLUSION: In our study, a statistically significant increase in vaspin levels was detected with increasing ischaemia duration and necrosis. These findings suggest that vaspin may be a potential biomarker in the early diagnosis of AMI.