Effect of peri‐conception high‐fat diets on maternal ovarian function, foetal and placentome growth, and vascular umbilical development in goats

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine whether a high‐fat diet (HFD) fed to goats for a brief period during peri‐conception would optimize reproductive and foetal responses. Thirty‐four Anglo‐Nubian crossbred adult goats were allocated into three groups: control (n = 11), fed with a total mixed ration (TMR) based on chopped elephant grass and concentrate; HFBM (n = 11), given TMR supplemented with soybean oil on a 0.5% dry matter basis for 11 days starting nine days before mating (BM); and HFAM (n = 12), fed with soybean oil included in the TMR for 15 days after mating (AM). The TMR diets differed in their fat content (7.5% vs. 2.9%). All goats had oestrus synchronized for 14 days BM by intravaginal administration of 60 mg MPA sponge for 12 days. Forty‐eight hours BM, the sponge was removed and 0.075 mg PGF2α was applied intramuscularly. After 36 h, 1 ml GnRH was administered intramuscularly, and goats were mated after sponge removal. The fat groups showed lower feed intake (p < .001) and higher cholesterol levels (p < .001) when HFD was administered. Doppler and B‐mode ultrasound evaluations revealed a greater (p < .05) number of small (<3 mm, 10 ± 0.6 vs. 8 ± 0.5) and large (≥3 mm, 6 ± 0.4 vs. 5.0 ± 0.2) follicles and intraovarian blood area (p < .05) in the HFBM group during sponge removal (57.6%) and mating (24.2%) than those of the no‐fat group. During AM, the fat‐fed groups exhibited higher glutathione peroxidase levels (p < .05) and a reduction (p < .001) in corpus luteum size (19%) and vascularized Doppler area (41%). No difference (p > .05) between groups was found in foetal traits, placentome and umbilical vascular development, except for the embryonic vesicle where HFAM twin pregnancy showed a smaller size than the control (26.1 ± 3.5 cm vs. 33.7 ± 2.7 cm; p < .01). Thus, HFD applied during peri‐conception of goats has no impact on later foetal development but improved the follicular growth when given before the mating. Thus, the use of HFD in periconception has no impact on foetal development but increases follicular growth before breeding time.

Effect of short-term nutritional supplementation of green microalgae on some reproductive indicators of Anglo-Nubian crossbred goats

“…These approaches may represent a viable solution in tropical regions due to the disadvantage of sustaining feed intake at high temperatures for long periods, where high-energy diet programs with high-quality feed are often competitive with human diets [41]. Short food formulations have advantages regarding management and cost and efficient modulation of ovarian activity in goats [42,43] and sheep [44,45].…”

Effect of short-term nutritional supplementation of green microalgae on some reproductive indicators of Anglo-Nubian crossbred goats

“…These approaches may represent a viable solution in tropical regions due to the disadvantage of sustaining feed intake at high temperatures for long periods, where high-energy diet programs with high-quality feed are often competitive with human diets [ 41 ]. Short food formulations have advantages regarding management and cost and efficient modulation of ovarian activity in goats [ 42 , 43 ] and sheep [ 44 , 45 ].…”

Use of monosodium-glutamate as a novel dietary supplement strategy for ovarian stimulation in goats

“…Equipment settings were kept constant throughout the study, with a Doppler sampling frequency (PRF) of 1.0 kHz, depth of 6.5 cm, and color gain of 100%. Using ImageJ software, a quantitative analysis of the colored pixels present in the Doppler area was performed to evaluate the intraovarian blood flow in the images, following the protocol described by Cavalcanti et al (2022).…”