Effect of Systemic Cortisol on Pregnancy Rate in Repeat Breeding Cows during Early Pregnancy

Abstract

Background: The effect of systemic cortisol on pregnancy rate during early pregnancy in repeat breeding cows was estimated.Methods: Oestrus synchronisation was done in 20 repeat breeders and samples were collected on different days of post-insemination to estimate cortisol.Result: Trans-rectal ultrasonography on 26th day of post insemination revealed a pregnancy rate of 45%. When two groups were compared, serum, salivary and urinary cortisol level of non-pregnant animals were significantly (P less than 0.05) increased than that of pregnant animals on different days of post-insemination. Within non-pregnant animals, serum, salivary and urinary cortisol levels showed a significant (P less than 0.05) variation between different days of post insemination, but this variation was not observed in pregnant animals. Spearman rho correlation revealed positive association (P less than 0.05) of systemic cortisol with pregnancy rate. In non-pregnant animals, salivary and urinary cortisol levels were observed to be positively correlated (P less than 0.05) with serum cortisol. The results indicate that systemic cortisol has influence on pregnancy rate in repeat breeding cows, this may be due to its effect on embryo implantation and hormonal balance, which requires further validation. Association of salivary and urinary cortisol with serum cortisol indicates their use as non-invasive samples to monitor the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in repeat breeders.