Administration of lutropin (r-hLH) in the ovulatory and embryonic response in Pelibuey sheep

Administración de lutropina (r-hLH) y su respuesta en la tasa ovulatoria y embriones viables en ovejas Pelibuey

Objective. To evaluate the influence of lutropin alfa (recombinant human LH, r-hLH) administered at 12 and 24 h post-progesterone device removal (CIDR) on the response of hours to the onset of estrus, ovulatory rate, unfertilized oocytes, transferable embryos and plasmatic levels of LH, in a multiple ovulation protocol based on FSHp in Pelibuey sheep. Materials and methods. Eighteen sheep of Pelibuey sheep were used, which were randomly distributed into three treatments (n=6): T1 (200 mg FSHp-Folltropin®); T2 (200 mg pFSH + 75 IU r-hLH at 12 h post-CIDR withdrawal) and T3 (200 mg pFSH + 75 IU r-hLH at 24 h post-CIDR withdrawal). Results. Hours from start to estrus and ovulatory rate (OR) no significant differences were found. In unfertilized oocytes (UO) it was higher (p<0.05) in T2 (5.0 ± 2.3) compared to T1 (0.8 ± 0.6) and T3 (1.3 ± 0.7). The number of Quality 1 Embryos (Q1E) was higher (p<0.05) in T3 (3.1 ± 1.1) compared to T1 (1.1 ± 0.3) and T2 (0.6 ± 0.5) and for Transferable Embryos (TE) it was higher (p< 0.05) for T3 (6.6 ± 0.9) in relation to T2 (2.0 ± 1) and T1 (4.0 ± 0.6). Conclusions. The application of r-hLH 24 h after removing the CIDR increases plasma levels of LH, in effect, the number of unfertilized oocytes is reduced, and the number and quality of transferable embryos in Pelibuey sheep are improved.

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