In the present study 21 young female swines, sexually mature, reared and kept under a industrial management system were assessed for their progesterone serum profiles during the oestrus cycle. Blood sampling was performed always at the same interval, from 8:00 to 10:00 AM. Each animal was submitted to 14 venal punctions at days 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22 and 23 of the oestrous cycle. the first day of the oestrous phase was assumed to be Day 0 and the 23rd as the first of the next cycle. Hormone determinations were performed employing a solid phase radioimmunoassay (RIA). For progesterone 17-alpha-OH hormone, the observed mean values ranged from 0.18 to 2.7 ng/ml and for the androstenedione hormone those values ranged from 0.08 to 0.24 ng/ml.
Progesterone; Androstenedione; Swine
