Всероссийский научно-исследовательский институт физиологии, биохимии и питания животных – филиал Федерального государственного бюджетного научного учреждения «Федеральный научный центр животноводства – ВИЖ имени академика Л.К. Эрнста»
ABSTRACT. The aim of the review is to systematize data on factors that can cause an increase in cholesterol in the blood of healthy cows during the first months of lactation, in particular, during the formation of ovulatory reproductive cycles, before fertilization and in the first months of pregnancy. Variations in blood cholesterol after calving directly reflect the current rate of its use for the production of lipid components of milk. Other factors contributing to an increase in blood cholesterol in animals during the first months of lactation are its release from adipocytes of adipose tissue, activation of lipo- or gluconeogenesis processes, as well as increased absorption of lipid components of the feed and the use of certain metabolic intermediates (acetate) for the synthesis of endogenous cholesterol. An increase in the level of cholesterol in the blood of cows during this period, the first months after calving, may also be associated with the manifestation of functional abnormalities in animals, for example, with liver
dysfunction. The determination of cholesterol in the blood of healthy cows in the first month after calving provides valuable information on the level of milk productivity, the state of energy reserves, and also characterizes the conditions in the body for accelerated resumption of ovulatory cycles, successful fertilization and the development of pregnancy in a shorter postpartum period. High levels of cholesterol in the blood of cows in the first months after calving can be used as one of the prognostic markers of increasing the efficiency of their fertilization during this period. Today, the exact range of changes in the level of individual lipids in cows of different breeds and with different milk productivity in first months of the postpartum period is not sufficiently represented. It is important to disclose detailed mechanisms that determine fluctuations in cholesterol levels in cows, depending on the stage of the reproductive cycle.
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