BLOOD PLASMA PROGESTERONE CONCENTRATIONS IN TWO DIFFERENT VEINS AND COMPARISON OF PROGESTERONE CONCENTRATIONS AND RECTAL PALPATION FINDINGS TO DETERMINE OVARIAN CYCLICITY IN THE NILI-RAVI BUFFALO (BUBALUS BUBALIS

¹Animal Sciences Institute, National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad, ²Biological Sciences Department, University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi, ³Nuclear Medicine, Oncology & Radiotherapy Institute, Islamabad, Pakistan

Abstract

    This study comprised of two experiments. The first experiment was aimed at determining progesterone concentrations in the blood samples collected from tail and jugular veins of pluriparous cyclic buffaloes. Plasma progesterone concentrations were 0.19 ± 0.36 and 0.12 ± 0.22 in early luteal phase (N=4) and 1.60 ± 0.72 and 1.35 ± 0.47 ng/ml in mid luteal phase (N=3) from tail and jugular veins, respectively. No difference (P>0.05) was found in progesterone concentrations in blood taken from the two sites. In the second experiment, cyclic or non-cyclic status of buffalo ovaries was determined by measuring plasma progesterone concentrations and palpation of ovaries per rectum. The reported anoestrous buffaloes (not showing heat symptoms for ≥ 6 months postpartum) were palpated rectally on two occasions, at eleven days interval, to monitor their ovarian activity. Blood samples were collected from jugular or tail vein. The buffaloes having no corpus luteum (N=3) on any ovary at both occasions were declared as true anoestrous, while those having a palpable corpus luteum (N=3) on one of the ovaries on any one occasion were termed as suboestrous. True anoestrous buffaloes had progesterone concentrations < 0.25 ng/ml on both occasions. The cyclic or suboestrous buffaloes had progesterone concentrations >1.0 ng/ml at one of the occasions. The results of this study indicated that progesterone concentration of blood plasma and rectal palpation of ovaries could be used for determining ovarian cyclicity in Nili-Ravi buffaloes.

Key words: Buffalo, progesterone, tail vein, jugular vein, rectal palpation, ovarian cyclicity.