Studies on Biochemical Properties of Cervico-Vaginal Mucus during Early Pregnancy in Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)

The present work was carried out to study the variation in biochemical properties of cervico-vaginal mucus of pregnant and non pregnant animals which could help to design suitable tool in future for early pregnancy diagnosis in buffaloes. Cervico-vaginal mucus samples were obtained from 30 buffaloes (12 pregnant and 18 non pregnant) and some biochemical parameters were compared. Means of pH, sodium, potassium and chloride had no significant difference between the estrous cycle and pregnancy. Total sugar content showed significant differences in pregnant and non pregnant animals from 6th to 21st day (P < 0.05). In pregnant ani-mals, continuously increasing trend was observed from day 0 to day 21 (25.22±0.5 mg/100 mL on day 0 to 130.5±1.1 mg/100 mLon day 6 and later 156.4±1.8 mg/100 mL on day 21) whereas in non pregnant ani-mals the concentration of total sugar increased from day 0 to day 12 and then started decreasing (24.33±0.6 mg/100 mL on day 0, 118.1±1.7 mg/100 mL on day 6, 127.9±1.5 mg/100 mL on day 12 and then decreased to 90.8±1.2 mg/100 mL on day 21). Protein content of vaginal mucus was different in pregnant and non pregnant animals from 12 to 21 day of experiment. A continuously decreasing trend of protein content was observed in non pregnant group after 12th day (14.3±0.43 mg/mL on day 12 and 9.9±0.55 mg/mL on day 21) whereas in pregnant group, the concentration remained higher up to 21st day without any significant change (26.8±0.33 mg/mL on day 12 to 29.6±0.12 mg/mL on day 21). However, protein content initially increased in both pregnant (42.4±0.22 mg/mL) and non pregnant (40.2±0.03 mg/mL) group and showed highest values on third day. Consequently, significant variation in total sugar and protein in cervico-vaginal mucus could be helpful in designing future biochemical tool for early pregnancy diagnosis in buffalo.