Superovulation and oocyte recovery in the ewe.
Thirty-eight adult ewes were superovulated following a 12 d progestagen treatment in association with either 135 mg crude horse anterior pituitary extract (HAP) or 30 mg soluble HAP with or without 1000 IU human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). Soluble HAP in combination with hCG significantly (P < 0.01) increased the ovulation rate as compared to HAP alone (14.5 vs 5.3, respectively). The number of oocytes recovered per ewe showing estrus following soluble HAP and HCG (6.9) was higher than after HAP alone (3.3), but this difference was not significant. A significantly higher (P < 0.05) ovulation rate and ovarian response were obtained following crude HAP than soluble HAP (14.0 vs 6.3 and 15.3 vs 9.4, respectively). There was a tendency for the proportion of follicles which ovulated to be higher in the crude HAP group. The mean number of oocytes or the proportion of oocytes recovered was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the crude HAP group than in the soluble HAP group.
Alwan
S F
SF
Boland
M P
MP
Gordon
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I