Faecal Gestagen, Serum and Milk Progesterone Concentrations in Ewes of the Jezersko-Solchava Breed

Abstract

The aim of the study was to obtain information about the characteristics of the serum progesterone, faecal gestagen and milk progesterone patterns in the ewes during oestrous cycle, pregnancy and postpartum period. The study was performed in seven adult ewes of the JezerskoSolchava breed. The faecal gestagens were extracted by methanol and hormone concentrations determined by EIA. During the oestrous cycle, lasting 16 days in average, low serum progesterone and faecal gestagen values were found in the follicular ( 4.77 nmol/L and 1.4 nmol/g, respectively) and high values in the luteal phase (31.34 nmol/L and 3.26 nmol/g respectively). They remained high during pregnancy with the mean duration of 145 days, decreased abruptly at parturition and remained low during the early postpartum period. Significant positive correlations were established between the serum progesterone and faecal gestagen concentrations during the oestrous cycle (r = 0.8848, P < 0.001), pregnancy (r = 0.9129, P < 0.001) and postpartum period (r = 0.6861, P <0.01). During the postpartum period significant positive correlation existed among the serum and milk progesterone and faecal gestagen concentrations as well. The results of our study show a positive correlation between the serum progesterone and faecal gestagen concentrations in ewes. Therefore we conclude that faecal gestagen determination is a suitable non-invasive method for the estimation of ovarial activity in ewes.

Effects of storage temperature and time on fecal progesterone concentration<br>in camel (Camelus dromedarius)

“…This value was similar to that reported by Cebulj-Kadunc et al (2000) in sheep (11.4%). It was slightly higher than that published by Isobe et al (2005) in bovine, which was about 10.9%.…”

“…This coefficient was similar to that found by Dantzer et al (2010) for cortisol (17.9%). However, this coefficient was higher than that obtained by Korndö rfer et al (1998) in rabbit (15.7%) and Cebulj-Kadunc et al (2000) in sheep (13.8%) for progesterone. The intra and inter-assay coefficient variation for a sample having high concentration plasmatic of P4 were, respectively, equal to 17.3% and 17.6%.…”

“…This technique is stressful for animal and requiring a strict conservation of samples. As an alternative, the measure of steroid metabolites in feces is widely suggested to monitor reproductive hormones in wildlife species (Graham, 2004;Freeman et al, 2010) as well as in domestic animals (Cebulj-Kadunc et al, 2000;Kornmatitsuk et al, 2007). It is a non-invasive method, since it avoids the stress effects related to blood sampling and fecal samples are easily collected and stored.…”

Monitoring of Progesterone and Estrone Fecal Metabolites Throughout Gestation in Ewes

“…The blood hormone profile during pregnancy in ewes has been previously described (21)(22)(23) , and the serum progesterone and estrone levels during pregnancy obtained in this study corroborated previous reports. The high correlation between serum progesterone levels and fecal metabolites during pregnancy was also observed by Cebulj-Kadunc et al (14) in ewes. Additionally, Borjesson et al (5) also demonstrated a high correlation between serum and fecal progesterone levels in wild ewes.…”

“…Considering the metabolism and excretion pathways of reproductive steroid metabolites (12) , some researchers have evaluated the use of fecal samples for hormone monitoring in sheep. Fecal metabolites of progesterone were evaluated during the estrous cycle and pregnancy in domestic (Ovis aries) (13,14) and wild (Ovis canadensis) (5) ewes, observing a high correlation between fecal metabolites and serum progesterone levels. Additionally, Schoenecker et al (6) also evaluated progesterone and estrone fecal metabolite levels in pregnant ewes, but the hormone levels were not correlated with the serum levels.…”