Vol. 10, Special Issue 5 (2021)

Author(s):
Gunaranjan KS, Sudha G, Sahadev A, Yathish HM, Bhajantri S, Kalmath GP and Kshama MA

Abstract:
The endometrium plays a vital role in determining the fertility of cattle. Failure to achieve optimal endometrial thickness (ET) at the time of estrus may lead to reduced fertility. Estradiol supplementation has been used to achieve adequate endometrial thickness in human patients with thin endometria. The present study was carried out to test the hypothesis that estradiol supplementation enhances fertility in cattle by increasing the endometrial thickness in cows with thin endometrium. For this purpose 15 parous HF cows with a history of repeat breeding having ET < 7mm were administered a single dose of estradiol 24 hrs prior to ovulation. All the animals were subject to ultrasound examination of the uterus and ovaries. Size of ovulatory follicle, ET, serum P4 and E2 were recorded and analyzed on the day of ovulation before treatment and from three days prior to ovulation to a day after ovulation after treatment. A mean endometrial thickness of 4.70 ± 0.28 mm was recorded in all the cows on the day of estrus of the previous cycle which increased to a mean of 9.27 ± 0.40 mm in 60 % of the animals on the day of estrus in the cycle following treatment. Conception was seen in 6 of the 9 animals with ET above 7 mm. conception was not seen in any of the animals which did not attain endometrial thickness above 7 mm. The ET was positively correlated to serum estradiol concentration and negatively correlated to serum progesterone concentration. Findings of the study suggest that estradiol supplementation may enhance fertility in cows with thin endometria.