György Gábor 1 - Fruzsina Tóth 1 - Garth Sasser 2
1 Research Institute for Animal Breeding and Nutrition, Herceghalom, Hungary,
2 Biotracking LLC, Moscow, ID, US

Detection of the embryonic loss in dairy cattle by ELISA tests

Holstein-Friesian (n=79) cows were investigated 90-120 days after calving. Cows were divided into 4 groups: (RB) repeat breeder [n=19; average daily milk production (ADMP) 34.3 kg], (PR) pregnant (n=21; ADMP 38.1 kg), (OC) open cycling (n=24; ADMP 38.7 kg) and (ON) open non-cycling (n=15; ADMP 36.3 kg) based on the results of PSPB and P4 ELISA tests (for pregnancy). Samples were assayed for determination level of serum -tocopherol, retinol and -carotene. Plasma concentrations of albumin, glucose, urea, uric acid, NEFA and -hydroxybutyrate were also examined. No differences were found among the different groups but in NEFA concentration, significant differences were found when OC (mean: 0.2 mmol/l) and ON (mean: 0.3 mmol/l) groups were compared with the PR (mean: 0.17 mmol/l) group (P = 0.004). The concentration of uric acid significantly differed (P = 0.01) between the ON (mean: 38.9 mmol/l) and the PR (mean: 46.5 mmol/l) cows. No pathological NEFA plasma level was found in the PR group, while 8.3% (OC), 20% (ON) and 31.6% (RB) of samples were above the normal value (<0.4mmol/l). Slightly increased plasma levels of uric acid were measured in the group of PR cows (19% of samples were higher than 60 mol/l) and similar results were found in the other groups as well (OC 16.6%; RB 10.5%), and no pathological plasma values were measured in ON group. Based on our results NEFA may have predictive value for conception rate. The increased plasma concentrations of uric acid probably are from the high protein content of the daily ration and have no correlation with the fertility data.