Farmacopuntura utilizando os acupontos HOU HAI e BAI HUI em protocolos de sincronização de estro em caprinos

Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of the administration of low doses of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) in acupoints Bai Hui and Hou Hai in estrous synchronization protocols in female goats. There were two experimental stages, and the completely randomized design was used. In the first experimental stage, 57 Anglo-Nubian goats received intravaginal sponges impregnated with 60mg of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MAP) during six days and 0.125mg of cloprostenol sodium, by intramuscular route (IM), 24 hours prior to the removal of sponges. After the application of the luteolytic agent, the animals were randomly divided into four experimental groups (G), as follows: G1 (n=13) - application of 300IU of eCG (100% of dose) by IM route; G2 (n=14) - 60IU of eCG (20% of dose) in acupoint Hou Hai; G3 (n=15) - 60IU of eCG in acupoint Bai Hui and G4 (n=15) - 60IU of eCG in false acupoint (IM) at the time of removal of sponges. In the second experimental stage, 28 AngloNubian goats were used. They received intravaginal sponges impregnated with 60mg of MAP during a period of six days and 0.125mg of cloprostenol sodium, by IM route, 24 hours prior to the removal of the progesterone devices. After the removal of sponges, the animals were randomly divided into three experimental groups (G), as follows: G1 (n=9) - application of 300IU of eCG (100% of dose) by IM route; G2 (n=8) - 30IU of eCG (10% of dose) in acupoint Bai Hui and G3 (n=10) - 30IU of eCG in false acupoint (IM) at the time of removal of sponges. In both stages, after the removal of sponges, the animals were monitored every 12 hours for the covers to be carried out and for the determination of the reproductive behavior parameters: animals in estrus (AE) (%), interval between sponge removal at the beginning of estrus (IREIE), interval between sponge removal at the end of estrus (IREFE) and duration of estrus (DE), the intervals and the duration of estrus were measured in hours. The pregnancy diagnosis was carried out 30 days after the end of the covers, in order to determine the pregnancy rate (TG). The prolificacy assessment was carried out by using the average obtained from the number of baby-goats delivered per female goat. With regard to the evaluation of the cost of the protocols, the market value of the hormones was considered; and it was determined by the sum of the cost of each hormone in each treatment. The normality of the experimental errors among the treatments for the variables was previously evaluated by using Shapiro-Wilk test. The variables that didn’t demonstrate normal distribution (IIFEh, IREIE e IREFE) were evaluated by Kruskal-Wallis test in order to verify the treatment effect, and to complement this analysis, the Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the average scores among treatments. The binary variables (TG30, AE) were modeled by the use of the binomial distribution. As for the variable prolificacy, the adjusted distribution was Poisson’s. In the first experimental stage there were differences (P=0.009) for DE, with the following averages: 40.3±18.97; 21.9±23.3; 13.65±15.01 and 27.3±21.3h for 100% IM, 20% Hou Hai, 20% Bai Hui and 20% IM, respectively, with the group 100% IM higher than the one with 20% IM. There was no difference for AE (71.9%), IREIE (31.9±25.0h), IREFE (69.0±37.6h), TG30 (40,57%) and prolificacy (1.4±0.7). The cost of the hormonal protocol was US$ 5.11 for 100% IM and US$ 2.79 for the other groups. In the second experimental stage there were differences (P=0.03) for AE, with the following averages: 100; 55.5 and 50% for 100% MI, 10% Bai Hui and 10% IM, respectively, with superiority of group 100% IM. There was no difference (P>0.05) for IREIE (31.8±21.6h), IRFE (59.5±36.6h), TG30 (40.5%) and prolificacy (2.2±0.8). The cost of the protocol was US$ 5.11; to 100% IM and US$ 2.50; for the other groups. The administration of low doses of eCG in acupoints Bai Hui and Hou Hai was efficient to synchronize the estrus of goats, however, the results show a tendency of lower results with the application in false acupoint.