Effect of Feeding Calcium Soaps to Early Postpartum Dairy Cows on Plasma Prostaglandin F₂, Luteinizing Hormone, and Follicular Growth

¹ Dairy Science Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611
² USDA-ARS, Reproduction Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 2O705

Multiparous Holstein cows (n = 18) were fed a total mixed ration containing corn silage, corn grain, whole cottonseed, soybean meal, dried distillers grains, and chopped bermudagrass hay (control) or same diet plus Ca salts of long-chain fatty acids (2.2% of diet DM) for the first 60 d postpartum. Predicted energy balance was calculated from DM intake, milk yield and composition, and BW. On d 25 postpartum, cows were injected with 25 mg of prostaglandin F₂ and treated for 15 d with an intravaginal device containing 1.9 g progesterone. Profiles of 15-keto-13,14-dihydro-prostaglandin F₂ (d 1 to 21) and plasma triglycerides (d 7 to 60) were similar between groups. Average number of follicles, determined by ultrasonography prior to d 25, tended to differ between groups; controls had more 3- to 5-mm and fewer 6- to 9-mm follicles than the group of fat-fed cows. Basal, smoothed mean concentration, and average luteinizing hormone amplitude, determined by 10-min samples for 8 h on d 10, were not significantly different between groups. Increasing predicted energy balance was associated with increased pulse amplitude and diameter of the largest follicle on d 10. During the progesterone treatment period and the postprogesterone treatment estrous cycle, cows fed fat had greater numbers of 3- to 5-mm and >15-mm follicles. In conclusion, feeding fat did not influence 15-keto-13,14-dihydro-prostaglandin F₂ or luteinizing hormone dynamics but did alter the average number of follicles within different size classes and the diameter of largest and second largest follicle after progesterone treatment.

Key Words: follicle • fatty acids • prostaglandin F₂

Submitted on February 19, 1990
Accepted on September 4, 1990

This article has been cited by other articles:

				W. F. Marei, D. C. Wathes, and A. A. Fouladi-Nashta The Effect of Linolenic Acid on Bovine Oocyte Maturation and Development Biol Reprod, December 1, 2009; 81(6): 1064 - 1072. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. N. Lopes, A. B. Scarpa, B. I. Cappellozza, R. F. Cooke, and J. L. M. Vasconcelos Effects of rumen-protected polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation on reproductive performance of Bos indicus beef cows J Anim Sci, December 1, 2009; 87(12): 3935 - 3943. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. J. Scholljegerdes, B. W. Hess, M. H. J. Grant, S. L. Lake, B. M. Alexander, T. R. Weston, D. L. Hixon, E. A. Van Kirk, and G. E. Moss Effects of feeding high-linoleate safflower seeds on postpartum reproduction in beef cows J Anim Sci, September 1, 2009; 87(9): 2985 - 2995. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. C. Garnsworthy, A. Lock, G. E. Mann, K. D. Sinclair, and R. Webb Nutrition, Metabolism, and Fertility in Dairy Cows: 2. Dietary Fatty Acids and Ovarian Function J Dairy Sci, October 1, 2008; 91(10): 3824 - 3833. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Kassa, J. D. Ambrose, A. L. Adams, C. Risco, C. R. Staples, M.-J. Thatcher, H. H. Van Horn, A. Garcia, H. H. Head, and W. W. Thatcher Effects of Whole Cottonseed Diet and Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin on Ovarian Follicles in Lactating Dairy Cows J Dairy Sci, November 1, 2002; 85(11): 2823 - 2830. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. C. Francisco, C. S. Chamberlain, D. N. Waldner, R. P. Wettemann, and L. J. Spicer Propionibacteria Fed to Dairy Cows: Effects on Energy Balance, Plasma Metabolites and Hormones, and Reproduction J Dairy Sci, July 1, 2002; 85(7): 1738 - 1751. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S.J. Filley, H.A. Turner, and F. Stormshak Prostaglandin F2{alpha} Concentrations, Fatty Acid Profiles, and Fertility in Lipid-Infused Postpartum Beef Heifers Biol Reprod, November 1, 1999; 61(5): 1317 - 1323. [Abstract] [Full Text]