Effects of dietary supplements of folic acid on reproductive performance in ewes

Abstract

. W. 2008. Effects of dietary supplements of folic acid on reproductive performance in ewes. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 88: 489Á497. The objective of this project was to assess the impact of periconceptional folic acid supplementation on the reproductive performance of prolific and non-prolific ewes, in the estrous and anestrous seasons. Two initial trials took place during the estrous season at two experimental sites where 38 Dorset and 39 half-Finn half-Dorset ewes (site A) as well as 80 Dorset ewes (site C) were divided into two groups receiving either 0 or 210 mg ewe(1 d (1 of folic acid over a period which extended from 21 d premating to 30 d postmating. Three other trials were conducted in the anestrous season where 80 Dorset ewes (site A), 56 half-Romanov ewes (site B) and 78 Dorset ewes (site C) were subjected to the same protocol as the one used in the breeding season. In all the trials, the folic acid supplement increased plasma and red cell folates, but had no effect on fertility, embryonic mortality, or the size or weight of the litter at birth. Folic acid supplementation did not improve the reproductive performance of prolific and nonprolific ewes, either in the estrous season or in the anestrous period. (1 jour (1 d'acide folique sur une pe´riode qui s'est e´tendue de 21 j pre´ce´dant la saillie jusqu'a`30 j apre`s la saillie. Trois autres essais ont e´te´re´alise´s en contre-saison sexuelle ou`80 brebis Dorset (site A), 56 demi-Romanov (site B) et 78 Dorset (site C) ont e´te´soumises au meˆme protocole que celui re´alise´en saison sexuelle. Dans tous les essais, le supple´ment d'acide folique a augmente´les folates plasmatiques et e´rythrocytaires, mais n'a eu aucun effet sur la fertilite´, la mortalite´embryonnaire, la taille et le poids de la porte´e a`la naissance. Les performances reproductives des brebis prolifiques et non prolifiques n'ont pas e´te´ame´liore´es par la supple´mentation en acide folique, autant en saison qu'en contre-saison sexuelle.Mots clé s: Brebis, reproduction, vitamines, acide folique, fertilite´, prolificiteT he sheep industry is an emerging agricultural sector in North America. Unfortunately, sheep farm profitability is often low owing to the low productivity of livestock operations. Of the various means available to producers to increase their income, increasing the fertility and prolificacy of breeding ewes are certainly at the top of the list of foreseeable short-term solutions.In the estrous season, ewe productivity is limited primarily by the low number of lambs born per ewe lambing (prolificacy). Widespread use of non-prolific breeds, which often give birth to only one lamb per lambing, remains the main reason for this low productivity. However, in sheep, 20 to 40% of fertilized ova are lost during gestation (Edey 1969;Ashworth 1995), primarily during the first month of gestation (Quinlivan et al. 1966). While, in the estrous season, this loss of embryos reduced the number of lambs born per lambing, in the anestrous season, the embryonic mortality could not only affect p...

Genome-wide association study and pathway analysis identify NTRK2 as a novel candidate gene for litter size in sheep

“…Women who take folic acid supplements have lower homocysteine concentrations in their follicular fluid, oocytes with better quality, and a high degree of mature oocytes [ 72 ]. It has been reported that the folate concentration in prolific breeds ewes is higher than from non-prolific breeds [ 73 ], but a more recent study reported that folic acid supplementation to prolific and nonprolific ewes increase folate concentration in red cells and plasma but hasn’t any effect on fertility or litter size [ 74 ].…”

Effects of folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation on culling rate, diseases, and reproduction in commercial dairy herds

“…Folic acid deficiency in female mammals during the preconception and gestational periods can impair fertility, folliculogenesis, and early embryogenesis (Laanpere et al, 2010). In a study in which dietary folic acid was given to ewes around mating, the ovulation rate increased during the estrous season for the prolific breed receiving the supplement compared with prolific control ewes and ewes of a nonprolific breed (Méthot et al, 2008). Supplementary folic acid administered to sows before and during gestation significantly increased the number of piglets born and the number of piglets born alive (Matte et al, 1984) by decreasing the number of dead fetuses at 30 d of gestation .…”

Efektivitas Vitamin B-Kompleks terhadap Gambaran Hematologi Sapi Bali Bunting dan Post-Partus

“…Jika terjadi penurunan nilai RBC dan HGB pada induk bunting perlakuan disebabkan karena pada saat bunting, induk sapi sangat memerlukan nutrisi untuk pertumbuhan fetus. Pemberian vitamin B-kompleks saat ternak bunting sangat dibutuhkan untuk perkembangan fetus, karena vitamin ini merupakan vitamin yang dapat meningkatkan perkembangan fetus terutama vitamin B6, vitamin B9 dan vitamin B-12 (Me´thot et al 2008;Mitchell et al 2014) sementara itu pada kajian ini digunakan vitamin B-kompleks yang hanya mengandung vitamin B1, B2 dan B6. Di sisi lain pakan yang diberikan peternak pada induk sapi perlakuan adalah pakan standar yang didominasi rumput alam, sekali waktu diberi rumput gajah atau biomas jagung tanpa pemberian mineral dan suplemen lainnya.…”