Author(s)

Moustafa Zeitoun^1*, Ahmed Al-Ghoneim², Khaled Al-Sobayil¹, Suliman Al-Dobaib¹

¹Department of Animal Production and Breeding, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Al-Qassim, KSA.
²Ministry of Agriculture, Riyadh, KSA.

A 2 × 2 factorial arrangement was designed to test effects of supplementation of a low (L, 75 mg/kg BW) vs. high (H, 150 mg/kg BW) L-arginine given at early (first 56 days) vs. late (last 56 days) pregnancy on maternal hormones and neonatal traits. Thirty Najdi pregnant ewes were randomly allocated into 6 groups. Ewes in G1 and G2 served as controls (C), given 50 ml saline at either early (CE) or late (CL) pregnancy, respectively. G3 and G4 ewes in early pregnancy received low (LE) and high L-arginine (HE), respectively. G5 and G6 ewes in late pregnancy received low (LL) and high (HL) L-arginine, respectively. A weekly blood sample was collected from initiation of the treatment till parturition. Serum growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), insulin, progesterone (P4) and estradiol 17 β (E2) profiles were determined. Neonatal traits were also determined. Insulin was higher (P < 0.05) in low arginine compared with control and high dosage. HL ewes (G6) exhibited increased (P < 0.05) IGF-I and decreased plasma E2. IGF-I increased and GH decreased at late pregnancy. The increase (P < 0.05) in plasma P4 between early and late pregnancy was slightly (P < 0.10) affected by L-arginine dosage. Low arginine increased (P < 0.05) birth weight by about 35% (4.86 kg) over the control (3.58 kg); whereas high arginine tended to increase birth weight (4.31 kg, P > 0.05). Lamb survival rates at birth in LE ewes were highest (100%) compared to other treatments. In conclusion, supplementing pregnant ewes with low dosage of L-arginine at early stage of gestation increased lamb birth weight and survival, and improved maternal health.

L-Arginine, Najdi Ewes, Gestation, Hormones, Neonate

Zeitoun, M. , Al-Ghoneim, A. , Al-Sobayil, K. and Al-Dobaib, S. (2016) L-Arginine Modulates Maternal Hormonal Profiles and Neonatal Traits during Two Stages of Pregnancy in Sheep. Open Journal of Animal Sciences, 6, 95-104. doi: 10.4236/ojas.2016.62012.