Effects of post-ovulatory food deprivation on oviductal sperm concentration, embryo development and hormonal profiles in the pig

Nutrition is one of the multiple factors that modulate reproduction in animals. The effect of 48 h food deprivation on reproductive and metabolic hormonal changes in relation to cleavage rates was studied. Insemination of 15 sows was performed 20–10 h prior to expected ovulation and ova were recovered at slaughter 65–91 h post ovulation. Blood samples were collected every second hour, beginning from the time of insemination until slaughter, for measurements of progesterone, cortisol, the prostaglandin F2α metabolite (15-keto-13,14-dihydro-PGF2α) and insulin levels. The embryos from the food-deprived sows (D-group) had fewer accessory spermatozoa in their zona pellucida (ZP) compared with the control sows (C-group). A lower cleavage rate of the embryos in the D-group compared with the C-group was detected. Plasma progesterone, cortisol and prostaglandin F2α metabolite levels were significantly higher in the D-group compared with the C-group. Food deprivation is associated with changes in reproductive and metabolic hormones that might lead to changes in the oviductal environment, culminating in a lower cleavage rate of the embryos and presence of fewer viable spermatozoa in the reservoir.