Fat supplementation influences postpartum reproductive performance in Brahman cows.

Effect of Fatty Acids on Reproductive Performance of Ruminants

“…In sheep, the use of Ca-LCFA from palm oil (El-Shahat & Abo-El maaty, 2010) or from corn oil (Herrera et al, 2008) in the feed improved the number and size of the preovulatory follicles, as well as rate of ovulation and the superovulatory response in Pelibuey sheep (Herrera et al, 2008). These evidences demonstrate that consumption of lipids accelerate follicular growth (de Fries et al, 1998), which may influence the restart of ovulation postpartum, as it was shown by Marín-Aguilar et al (2007) who observed that Holstein cows supplemented with plant oil (60% PUFAs) reduced by 7 days the restart of ovarian activity relative to a control group. de Veth et al (2009) observed that time at first ovulation in dairy cows was reduced by 8 days when they were supplemented with 8 g/d of trans-10, cis-12 CLA.…”

“…In beef cattle, the same trend has been observed. It is in this context that, de Fries et al (1998) reported that Brahman cows consuming 5.2% lipids in the ration showed a trend towards an increase in pregnancy rate than those cows which consumed only 3.7% lipids in the ration. Ferguson et al (1990) observed a 2.2 times increase in the possibility of pregnancy in lactating cows consuming 0.5 kg lipids per day.…”

“…Table 3 summarizes the effects of dietary fat supplementation on follicular physiology and growth as observed in different studies. Wehrman et al, 1991;Ryan et al, 1992;Hightshoe et al, 1991;Lucy et al, 1991;Thomas & Williams, 1996;Thomas et al, 1997;Lammoglia et al, 1996;Stanko et al, 1997;de Fries et al, 1998 Increased number of medium-sized follicles (polyunsaturated fat > saturated and highly polyunsaturated fat effects) Lucy et al, 1989Lucy et al, , 1991 Milk cows supplemented with Ca-LCFA palm oil, the basal level of LH was increase Wehrman et al, 1991;Ryan et al, 1992 Increased granullosa cell progesterone production in vitro, increased follicular fluid progesterone Lopes et al, 2009, Salas-Razo et al, 2011 Cows supplemented with rumen inert polyunsaturated fat had greater mean serum progesterone concentrations compared with control Ryan et al, 1992;Thomas & Williams, 1996 No effect on superovulation rate de Fries et al, 1998;Bilby et al, 2006a;Garnsworthy et al, 2008 Increased number of large follicles; increased size of largest follicle Table 3. Summary of the effect of dietary fat supplementation in cattle on ovarian follicular growth and steroid production.…”

“…Early studies of the effect of fat in the ration on reproductive performance were carried out by Burr & Burr (1930), who observed that fat deficiency in the ration of growing rats induced alterations in ovulation rate and on the onset of oestrus, while lipid supplementation reestablished reproductive performance of the females, coining the concept of essential fatty acids. In later studies, research was aimed at evaluating the effect of fat supplementation in different animal species both ruminant and non-ruminant, on reproductive aspects such as the establishment of puberty (Smith et al, 1989), semen production (Castellano et al, 2010), maternal recognition of pregnancy (Abayasekara & Wathes, 1999, Filley et al, 2000, Lopes et al, 2009) by means of the suppression of luteolytic signals (Mattos et al, 2000), restart of ovarian activity after parturition (de Fries et al, 1998), follicle development, quality of oocytes (Staples & Thatcher, 2005;Bilby et al, 2006c), and of the embryo (Cerri et al, 2009), modification in the mechanism of synthesis and secretion of hormones involved in reproductive processes and on production aspects such as quality of milk (Rego et al, 2004;Bernal et al, 2010) or meat (Wood et al, 2003). Due to the fact that some fatty acids (FA) are essential for mammals and to the role of fatty acids on reproductive processes, it is possible that cattle reproduction will be influenced more by the type of lipids consumed than for the total lipid intake.…”

Flushing em vacas de corte no pós-parto, submetidas ao desmame precoce: desempenho reprodutivo

“…De Fries et al (1996), utilizando 40 vacas Brahman suplementadas com dieta controle (3,7% de extrato etéreo) e com óleo de arroz (5,2% de extrato etéreo), obtiveram sucesso com a inclusão do óleo. Este aumento no número de folículos possibilitou aumento da taxa de prenhez para os animais que receberam o óleo de arroz (91,5%) em relação à dieta controle (71,4%).…”