LUTEAL DEFICIENCY: AN IMPORTANT CAUSE OF CONCEPTION FAILURE IN SAHIWAL CATTLE

Abstract

Plasma progesterone was determined during mid-luteal phase to evaluate the impact on subsequent
conception in Sahiwal cattle (n=40) that were subjected to artificial insemination (AI) with good quality frozen
semen about 12 h after the onset of estrus. Blood plasma was collected on day 10 post-AI and progesterone was
determined through ELISA. Pregnancy diagnosis between days 50-60 post-AI divided the animals into conceived
and non-conceived group (n=20 each). In both groups, plasma progesterone was similar (6.38±0.63 vs. 4.61±0.76
ng/ml, p>0.05). However, in non-conceived group, five animals had plasma progesterone <1.0 ng/ml and all the
animals with plasma progesterone >5.0 ng/ml on day 10 post-AI conceived. Thus, an adequate progesterone
release during early stages of conception may have a role in subsequent pregnancy maintenance.