Contreras-Correa, Zully E.

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    Effect of flunixin meglumine administration before the maternal recognition of pregnancy on the reproductive performance of Senepol heifers
    (2018-05) Contreras-Correa, Zully E.; Sánchez-Rodríguez, Héctor L.; College of Agricultural Sciences; Arcelay Ruiz, Enid; Fernández Vancleve, John; Latorre Acevedo, José R.; Department of Animal Science; Macchiavelli, Raúl
    The inability to inhibit the luteolytic hormone prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) during the maternal recognition of pregnancy is one major cause of embryonic mortality in cattle, negatively affecting reproductive performance. Previous research has related higher pregnancy rates (PR) to the use of non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs, in both, humans and cattle by inhibiting the PGF2α synthesis. Nevertheless, to our knowledge, this treatment has not been evaluated in Puerto Rican beef cattle. This study aimed to compare PR after fixed TAI in purebred Senepol heifers who received flunixin meglumine (FM; 1.1mg/kg of body weight (BW), intravenous; n = 19 and 23; for Trials 1 and 2, respectively) or the equivalent volume of saline solution (Control; n = 19 and 24 for Trials 1 and 2, respectively) as a placebo. For pregnancy detection, blood samples were collected from coccygeal venipuncture 29 or 30 d post-insemination and evaluated in a commercial laboratory (BioPRYN; Saint Cloud, FL). For Trial 1, more than one AI bull and day of treatment administration were used. Additionally, air temperature (AT) and relative humidity (RH) were recorded every five minutes during both trials and later combined to calculate the temperature humidity index (THI). Environmental conditions were average by hour and used in a descriptive manner. The PR related variables were analyzed by the Pearson’s chi square test (proc FREQ) of SAS. In Trials 1 and 2, the AT, RH, and THI were affected by the hour of the day; with AT and THI exceeding their literature established critical values for optimum reproductive performance (16.7°C and 68, respectively) during 100% of the day. In Trial 1 the PR values were not affected by AI bull (P = 0.5402) or treatment day (P = 0.5359); therefore data were combined for further analysis. No differences in PR were observed between the FM and Control groups in Trial 1 (P = 0.5158), Trial 2 (P = 0.4741), or in the pooled data (P = 0.9223). The reduced number of observations, the negative effects that heat stress exerts over reproduction, and the animal parity related reproductive performance, may have limited any possible reproductive advantage associated with the FM administration. Future studies should address these hypotheses.