PRP is plasma that contains a high numbers of platelets and growth factors in a small volume. The aim of this study was to evaluate seven different protocols to obtain PRP by the manual method according to their capacity to concentrate platelets, leukocyte and erythrocyte contamination and correlation between platelet count and TGF-β1 growth factor levels in PRP samples. Ten healthy horses with a mean age of 7 years (±2.39), weighing on average 500 kg (±67.1) were used in this study. The protocols tested varied according to the speed and time used at the two centrifugations. PRP samples were analyzed regarding platelet concentration, leukocyte and erythrocyte contamination and TGF-β1 levels quantified by ELISA. No significant differences among protocols were observed regarding the ability to concentrate platelets and TGF-β1. However, protocol I showed significantly higher erythrocyte and leukocyte counts in PRP samples than the other protocols, reason why it was considered inadequate for the volume of blood processed in this experiment. The remaining protocols are suitable for extracting PRP.
PRP; horse; centrifugation; TGF-β1
