Hormonal indexes as predictors of porcine reproductive traits.

The aim of the present study was to examine the applicability of several hormonal indexes for early prediction of puberty and reproductive state in pigs. For this purpose, we have compared the level of hormones leptin, estradiol, progesterone, and IGF-I in the blood of gilts at 150 days of age and their indexes of puberty and ovarian state at the age of 200 days. The association between blood leptin, estradiol, progesterone, and IGF-I and indexes of future reproductive state has been demonstrated. High blood concentrations of leptin and IGF-I levels were associated with relatively low reproductive traits, while high levels of estradiol and progesterone were associated with future high reproductive indexes. These observations are the first demonstration of the applicability of these endocrine indexes for prediction of porcine reproductive traits.