Determination of Antimüllerian Hormone Levels and its

Relationship with the Number of Follicles and Ovary Size in Heifers

and Adult Brahman Females
(Macías-Andrade JI, Hurtado EA, Carreño-Mendoza AL and Vivanco-Mackie HW. 2020. Journal of
Animal Science and Research. Volume 4 - Issue 1)

Reproductive efficiency is a determining factor of the economic performance that

bovine herds yield. The reproductive life of bovine females is established since the
beginning of fetal development, in which the preparation of the reproductive system in
cattle begins [1]. At the time of birth, the ovaries already have the potential for the
production of oocytes contained in a fixed number of primordial follicles, which are known
as the ovarian reserve and constitute the structures that trigger the reproductive processes
and phases of the estrous cycle [2, 3]. The number of follicles and oocytes is very variable
throughout the reproductive life of adult mammals. This is due to, as documented, that
mammals are born with a very variable number of morphologically healthy follicles and
oocytes, this amount begins to decrease rapidly with aging and they never get
replenished. It was reported that at the age of 1 year, cows have lost 80% of their original
stock of healthy oocytes. [1]
Antral follicle count has been related to reproductive parameters such as ovary size,
corpus luteum diameter, number of healthy oocytes, endometrial thickness, progesterone
concentration, pregnancy rate, and other reproductive indices [4, 5, 6, 7, 8], and the
evaluation of the reproductive tract in heifers represents an effective approach to an
indicator for fertility status in any herd [5]. Despite many studies on follicular dynamics
and its relationship with fertility and efficiency of reproductive biotechnologies, the
conditioning factors and mechanisms involved in the process are not yet completely
understood and there is no information on these relationships in Bos indicus. Therefore,
the objective of this study was to evaluate the functional relationship among plasma levels
of AMH, follicle count, age and ovary size in Brahman females.
Sixty (60) bovine females aged between 18 and 132 months were randomly selected
from a high genetic value Brahman cattle population and were subjected to gynecological
examination using ultrasonography to verify ovarian activity. In addition, an ovulation
synchronisation protocol was performed on all the females. Blood samples were taken for
determination of serum AMH levels by an ELISA test using MOFA® kits for the analysis
of samples. Follicle count and size of the ovary were evaluated through endorectal
ultrasonography. The data and the relationship between the variables under study were
examined through regression analysis.
The results showed that the average AMH level was 297.25 ρg/ml, while the median
was 250.65 ρg/ml, reflecting an average value closer to the third quartile (310.4 ρg/ml). For
the variables number of small follicles, large follicles and total follicles, the mean and
the median showed similar values, which is indicative of a normal distribution of the
data; the average values were 20.68; 14.22 and 34.88 with coefficients of variation of
49.50, 36.29 and 39.83 for the small, large and total follicles, respectively. Similarly,
the size of the corpora lutea and ovary also showed comparable mean and median
values with relatively low coefficients of variation.
It was concluded that plasma levels of AMH decreased with age of the animals and
that there was a direct linear relationship between the size of the ovary and the average
count of small, large and total follicles.

Keywords: Antimüllerian hormone; Follicles; Ovarian size; Brahaman cattle; Age influence
English-Reading Card-SWigati2020
A. List of Important Words:

English-Reading Card-SWigati2020
No. Word/words Pronounciation Meaning

1 reproductive efficiency rēprəˈdəktiv əˈfiSHənsē Efisiensi reproduksi

2 bovine herds bōvīn hərd Kawanan sapi
3 fetal development ˈfēdl dəˈveləpmənt Perkembangan fetus/janin
4 ovary (pl. ovaries) ōv(ə)rē [ōv(ə)rē s] Ovarium (ovari), indung telur
5 oocytes ōəˌsīt Oosit (sel telur)
6 primordial follicles prīˈmôrdēəl fälək(ə)ls Folikel yg sdh ada sejak awal
7 ovarian reserve ˌōˈverēən rəˈzərv Cadangan ovarium
8 estrous cycle ˈestrəs ˌsīk(ə)l Siklus estrus
9 adult mammals əˈdəlt ˈmaməls Mamalia dewasa
10 reproductive indices rēprəˈdəktivˌ ˈindiˌsēz ˌ Indeks reproduksi
11 fertility fərˈtilədē Fertilitas (kesuburan)
12 heifers ˈhefər (sapi) betina dara
13 morphologically môrfəˈläjəkəlē Secara morfologis
14 aging ˈājiNG Penuaan 9semakin tua)
15 replenished rəˈpleniSHəd Diisi (ditingkatkan) kembali
16 antral follicle count āntrəl fälək(ə)l kount Jumlah folikel antral
17 corpus luteum kôrpəs ˈlo͞ otēəm Korpus luteum
18 endometrial thickness endōˈmētrēal ˈTHiknəs Ketebalan endometrium
19 progesterone prōˈjestəˌrōn Progesteron
20 pregnancy rate ˈpreɡnənsē rāt Tingkat kehamilan
21 randomly ˈrandəmlē Secara acak
22 subjected to sabjek to͞ o Dikenakan
23 gynecological ˌɡīnəkəˈläjək(ə)l Ginekologi
24 indicative inˈdikədiv Indikatif
25 ovulation ōvyəˈlāSHən Ovulasi
26 synchronisation ˌsiNGkrənəˈzāSH(ə)n Sinkronisasi
27 protocol ˈprōdəˌkôl Protokol
coefficients of kōəˈfiSHənts əv verē
28 Koefisien variasi
variation ˈāSH(ə)n
29 respectively rəˈspektivlē Berturut-turut
30 linear relationship ˈlinēər rēlāSHənsyip Hubungan linier

B. QUESTIONS For Exploring Information, Grammar and Structure:

English-Reading Card-SWigati2020
1. Identify sentences indicating fact/background, material/method and
objective of the text, respectively.
2. Find a sentence indicating a result of the report/text.
3. Find out one sentence that the author discusses the results.
4. Identify how many tenses used by the author in the report.
5. Underline the structure (S, V, O, & ADV.) of the last sentence
6. Re-write sentence(s) indicating materials and methods.
7. How do you know that the last paragraph is a conclusion?

C. QUESTIONS For Reading and Writing Practices:

1. Read one or two sentences in each paragraph and ask your friend to correct your
pronunciations while looking at the text.
2. Ask your friend to read one or two sentences in each paragraph and write them down.
3. Read several times those important words and rewrite them
without looking to the text.

D. QUESTIONS For Listening and Paraphrasing Practices:

1. Ask your friend to read one paragraph for you (you are supposed to listen), catch the
meaning, and tell to another student/group.
2. Choose one paragraph, read it thoroughly, write the summary, and tell what it is about to
your friend in your own words.
3. Tell your friend the conclusion of the report in your own words.

English-Reading Card-SWigati2020