Serum, milk, saliva and urine progesterone and estradiol profiles in crossbred (Zebu x Holstein Friesian) dairy cattle

Abstract

Effective breeding management is a crucial tool to enhance the reproductive and productive performance of dairy cattle. To achieve this, regular monitoring of their reproductive status is important. The aims of this study were to monitor the reproductive status of crossbred dairy cattle based on progesterone (P4) concentration in serum, whole milk, saliva and urine, and estradiol in serum using quantitative laboratory ELISA tests, and to document hormonal profiles at different reproductive stages. Three hundred and thirty-six (336) crossbred (Holstein Friesian x Zebu) dairy cattle (232 cows and 104 heifers) from 47 dairy farms owned by smallholder or organized commercial dairy farmers were included in the study. Matched blood, milk and saliva samples were collected twice at 11-day intervals at afternoon milking, while urine was collected just once. Serum was separated within 48 hr of blood collection. All samples were stored at -80 o C until assayed. In both cows and heifers, P4 was higher during pregnancy than in other reproductive conditions. Estradiol was higher during estrus than at other reproductive stages. Estradiol levels were significantly higher (p<0.05) in estrus cows compared with heifers. The mean level of P4 in serum strongly correlated with the value in milk (r = 0.6368, P< 0.0001), however there was no correlation in P4 concentration between serum and saliva or between P4 in serum and in urine. Hence, determination of P4 in serum and milk using an ELISA test is a reliable and precise method to monitor reproductive status in crossbred dairy cattle.

Hormonal and Immunological Changes During Pregnancy Period of Cows

“…Similarly, El-Fouly et al (1998a) showed that E2-17β levels in crossbred cows did not change in the 1 st trimester while it significantly increased in the 2 nd trimester and increased sharply at the end of the 3 rd trimester of gestation, reached to its peak on day 1 before calving. Mekonnin et al (2017) conducted a study for estradiol level detection in pregnant heifers and cows. In both cows and heifers, higher estradiol concentrations were recorded during the first trimester of pregnancy as compare to other stages of pregnancy.…”

Environmental and medical applications of molecularly imprinting polymer sensor for the detection of progesterone

“…Progesterone has a substantial role in the reproductive health, such as regulating the estrous cycle time-length, maintaining pregnancy (Ab et al, 2017). In veterinary medicine, progesterone measurements have helped to improve fertility, used to assess the reproductive status of the cow and to diagnose pregnancy (Blavy et al, 2016).…”

“…Many of studies have investigated different methods to monitor PG in cows in different media such as milk (Samsonova et al, 2018) (Blavy et al, 2016),blood (Lasheen et al, 2018), urine (Volkery et al, 2012), and saliva (Ab et al, 2017) . The efficacy of biotechnologies for synchronization of estrus in cattle is fundamentally dependent on the PG quantitation in biologic fluids.…”