Effects of calcium salts of fatty acids rich in palmitic and oleic fatty acids on reproduction and serum biochemistry in Barki ewes
2016
Abd El-Hamid, I.S. | Nour El-Din, A.N.M. | Zaghloul, A.A. | El-Bahrawy, K.A. | Elshahawy, I.I. | Allam, A.M. | EL-Zarkouny, S.Z. | Hassan, G.A.
The effect of a flushing diet supplemented with calcium salts of fatty acids (CSFA) high in palmitic (37%) and oleic (33.6%) fatty acids on reproductive performance was studied using 30 Barki ewes with a mean weight of 40.0±0.2kg (mean±SD). The control group (n=15) received the basic diet of 1kg/h/d concentrate plus Egyptian clover (Trifolium alexandrinum) hay ad lib and the CSFA group received the basic diet plus 50g/h/d CFSA. The diets were offered for 60 days, prior to (30 d) and subsequent (30 d) to mating. Estrus was synchronized using a single injection of PGF2α prior to the introduction of rams. CSFA-fed ewes had non-significantly different twinning (20.0 vs. 7.1%), prolificacy (1.2±0.1 vs. 1.0±0.1) and female: male lamb sex ratio (72.2 vs. 50.0%) compared to controls; also, pregnancy, embryo survival and lambing rates were not affected by diet. Feeding CSFA resulted in a higher (P=0.06) total number of follicles and number of large follicles; however, the number of small follicles, and diameters of small and large follicles were not significantly different. Serum concentrations of estrogen at estrus were higher (P=0.06) 3days after PGF2α administration in CSFA (52.3±4.2pg/ml) compared to for control (41.6±3.8pg/ml) ewes. There were no significant differences in total number of corpora lutea (CL) or serum concentrations of progesterone during the luteal phase. Diameters of nascent CL were increased (P<0.05) by CSFA treatment (13.0±0.7mm) compared to control (11.2±0.2mm). Serum concentrations of lipid metabolites (TG, CHOL, HDL and LDL) were significantly (P<0.01) elevated relative to controls in the CSFA treatment. Serum TP, G and liver enzymes (ALT and AST) were not significantly affected by treatment. It was concluded that including CSFA in a flushing diet for Barki ewes resulted in increased serum concentrations of lipid metabolites, and improved twinning and prolificacy rates, and female/male lamb sex ratios.
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