Effect of dietary supplementation of Vitamin E on the resumption of cyclic ovarian activity in Murrah buffaloes

The postpartum anestrus and silent estrus are the challenging cause for low reproductive efficiency in buffaloes especially in tropical climate conditions. This study was aimed at assessing the effect of dietary supplementation of vitamin E on the resumption of cyclic ovarian activity in periparturient Murrah buffaloes through plasma progesterone (P4) hormone profiles. The Murrah buffaloes (n=12) were selected during their late gestation based on the expected date of calving that fall between November and February, from ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute livestock herd and were divided randomly into two groups (n=6). Buffaloes of group I were given only the control diet, while group II was supplemented with 2000 IU/day/head vitamin E along with control feed. Blood samples were collected from each buffalo at weekly intervals from day +21 to +56 after calving. Plasma P4 was estimated by direct radioimmunoassay (RIA). The results revealed that plasma P4 levels were statistically non-significant between groups except on day 21. However, the overall P4 profile of each buffalo indicated ovarian activity; from day 28 postpartum in supplemented group and day 42 in the control group. From the experiment, it could be inferred that the dietary supplementation of vitamin E has no effect on the resumption of cyclic ovarian activity/ steroidogenesis

Adaptive Mechanisms of Goat to Heat Stress

Goat is popularly known as ‘poor man’s cow’, rears mostly by the rural people due to better adaptive capability to harsh environment. Heat stress either hot or cold; negatively influence the goat productive and reproductive performance. Both survivability and reproductive performance of goat most often depend on its ability to cope with heat stressor. Goats can rears in a wide range of environment and geography may it be hilly terrain or undulating topography due to cope with the heat stress via combination of behavioral, morphological, physiological, biochemical, metabolic, hormonal and molecular changes at the gene level. All these adaptive mechanisms and genes are important for the assessment of heat stress, adaptability and strategies for management, production of heat-tolerant transgenic goat using advance biotechnological tools for sustainable goat production in challenged environment due to climate change

Xanthine oxidase activity during transition period and its association with occurrence of postpartum infections in Murrah buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

The aim of this study was to quantify xanthine oxidase (XO) levels during the transition period in Murrah buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) and determine its association with certain postpartum infections. For this, six healthy buffaloes were selected from the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) herd and managed under standard managemental practices as followed at the institute. Blood samples were drawn weekly from each buffalo from day -21 to +21 relative to parturition by jugular vein puncture. Additional blood samples were collected from buffaloes suffering from metritis (n=5), endometritis (n=6) and mastitis (n=8) on alternate days. XO activity followed a defined pattern with values gradually declining from day -21 up to the day of calving followed by an increase to day +21, but the difference was statistically not significant between pre- and post-partum stages. The activity significantly declined on the day of calving when compared to the pre-partum mean value (p<0.05). The activity was significantly enhanced in buffaloes with bacterial infections, endometritis, and mastitis compared to healthy controls (p<0.05). However, the levels were not significantly altered among buffalo with metritis. The results indicate that increased XO activity during the postpartum period was associated with some bacterial infections in buffaloes, which could be due to increased phagocytic activity as a part of the innate defense system.Keywords: Xanthine oxidase, transition periodAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(32), pp. 5101-510