EFFECT OF PROSTAGLANDINS ON SOME PHYSIOLOGICAL AND REPRODUCTIVE CHARACTERS IN SOME BIRDS

Abstract

Three experiments were conducted. The first experiment dealt with the effect of dietary oils on fertility, hatchability and productive potential in female in Japanese. A total of 140 female quail were assigned randomly to one of five treatment groups and fed on basal supplemented with 3% of one of the following oils; olive (Tl ), soybean (T2), palm (T3), com (T4), and control group. Eggs were incubated, and their fertility and hatchability were calculated. Birds were sacrificed and autopsied, ovaries and oviducts were weighed. The results showed that: body weight of quail were significantly higher in treatments than control. The weight of second and third follicles were significantly higher in treatments than control. However, the weights of ovary, oviduct and shell gland were not significantly affected by different oil treatments. Egg production, fertility and hatchability were higher in all treatments compared to control. In the second experiment, the levels of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids as precursors of prostaglandins were measured in plasma of 16 days embryo by GLC. The results of this study showed that the levels of prostaglandins precursors to control. In the third experiment, the effect of prostaglandins injections and their inhibitors in ovo on hatchability was examined. One thousand fertile quail eggs were incubated and at 16 days of incubation, eggs were injected with PGE1, PGF2a, indomethacin, aspirin, ethanol, sham and control with no injection. Hatchability percentages were calculated after 18 days of incubation. PGE1 and PGF2a resulted in highly significant increase in hatchability