Effect of FSH Stimulation on Follicular Development and Oocyte Recovery Rate Following Ovum Pick-up in Sahiwal Cows
Rabindra Kumar *
Department of Veterinary Gynaecology and Obstetrics, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Sushant Srivastava
Department of Veterinary Gynaecology and Obstetrics, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India.
S. K. Maurya
Department of Veterinary Biochemistry, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Bhoopendra Singh
Department of Veterinary Gynaecology and Obstetrics, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Kabir Alam
Department of Livestock Farm Complex, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Saurabh
Department of Veterinary Clinical Complex, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Rajesh Kumar
Department of Veterinary Gynaecology and Obstetrics, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Kh. Sangeeta Devi
Department of Veterinary Surgery and Radiology, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Pramod Kumar
Department of Veterinary Physiology, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Vibha Yadav
Department of Veterinary Microbiology, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The present study evaluated the effect of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) pre-stimulation on follicular development, oocyte yield and cumulus-oocyte complex (COC) quality in Sahiwal donor cows. Twelve Sahiwal cows aged 3-6 years, maintained at the Livestock Farm Complex under the Embryo Transfer and In Vitro Fertilization Project (RKVY), Department of Veterinary Gynaecology and Obstetrics, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, ANDUAT, Kumarganj, Ayodhya, were randomly divided into two groups. Group I cows (non-stimulated, n=6) received 2.5 mL (10 µg) GnRH on day 0, and ovum pick-up (OPU) was performed 5 days after GnRH administration. Group II cows (FSH-stimulated, n=6) received FSH pre-stimulation with Stimufol, 200 mg intramuscularly in three tapering doses (100, 60 and 40 mg), and OPU was conducted 48 h after the final FSH injection. The FSH-stimulated group had a significantly higher mean number of follicles available for aspiration (40.17 ± 1.81) than the non-stimulated group (27.67 ± 2.33). The mean number of COCs recovered was also higher in the FSH-stimulated group (36.50 ± 2.07) than in the non-stimulated group (23.17 ± 2.10), with recovery rates of 90.87% and 83.73%, respectively. FSH pre-stimulation increased the number of medium and large follicles and improved the recovery of Grade A COCs. These findings indicate that tapering-dose FSH pre-stimulation before OPU enhanced follicular availability, oocyte recovery and COC quality in Sahiwal cows under the conditions of this study.
Keywords: Sahiwal cow, follicle-stimulating hormone, ovum pick-up, follicular development, cumulus-oocyte complex, oocyte recovery, ovarian stimulation, coasting period, oocyte quality, assisted reproduction.