Abstract:To investigate the effects of artificially induced hibernation on the consumption of macronutrients in the blood and tissues in Asiatic Toads, Bufo gargarizans, hibernation was artificially induced for 56 days, and the body mass, organic indexes of heart, liver and gastrocnemius muscle, as well as the concentrations of glucose, total protein and total cholesterol in blood, the contents of glycogen in the hepatic tissue and skeletal muscle, and protein in the skeletal muscle and myocardium were measured on the day before hibernation and the day of 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, 42 and 56 post hibernation. Results showed that, compared with the pre-hibernation, the body mass did not change significantly during hibernation, and there was not significant sexual difference (Plot a1 and a2 in Fig. 1). The organic indexes of the heart, liver and gastrocnemius muscle in male toads were significantly higher than those in females (P < 0.01) (Plot b2, c2 and d2 in Fig. 1), while both the males and females showed no significant change in organic indexes during hibernation (Plot b3, c3 and d3 in Fig. 1). The blood glucose concentration decreased significantly after day 42 (P < 0.01) (Plot a1 in Fig. 2), the concentration of total protein decreased significantly (P < 0.05) on day 56 (Plot b1 in Fig. 2), but total cholesterol did not change significantly (Plot c1 in Fig. 2). The blood macronutrients did not show significant sexual difference (Plot a2, b2 and c2 in Fig. 2). The hepatic glycogen decreased significantly after day 42 of hibernation (P < 0.01) (Plot a1 in Fig. 3), and the muscular glycogen decreased significantly after day 1 (P < 0.05) (Plot b1 in Fig. 3), but the protein contents in the skeletal muscle and myocardium did not show significant differences (Plot c1 and d1 in Fig. 3). The tissue macronutrients showed no significant sexual difference (Plot a2, b2, c2 and d2 in Fig. 3). The contents of carbohydrate in the blood and tissue decreased first, and the blood protein decreased significantly only after deep hibernation, but the macronutrients in the blood and tissue could keep a relatively stable state within 1 month. It might be one of the major physiological mechanisms to adapt to hibernation in toads.