Acupuncture-mediated ovulation induction in mares: Evaluating the efficacy of subdose of histrelin at Bai-hui and Governing Vessel-1 acupoints

Abstract

Pharmacopuncture has been established for estrus induction in mares using hormonal subdoses, but studies for ovulation induction are scarce. This study aimed to assess the impact of acupuncture on ovulation in mares, utilizing subdoses of histrelin at Bai-hui (BH) and Governing Vessel-1 (GV-1) acupoints. Three groups were designated for ovulation induction: BH (n = 17) and GV1 (n = 19) received 75 µg histrelin at the acupoints, while control group (CG, n = 38) received 250 µg intramuscularly; histrelin was administered when follicles reached 35 mm. The ovulation rate within 48 hours was investigated over two estrus cycles. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA test with significance set at p < 0.05. Initially, ovulation rates within 48 hours were 80.6%, 88.2%, and 73.7% for CG, BH, and GV1, respectively, with no significant difference among the groups (p > 0.05). In the second estrus cycle, ovulation rates within 48 hours were 80.6%, 90.9%, and 91.7% for CG, BH, and GV1, respectively. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that a subdose of histrelin at 75 µg
is sufficient to induce ovulation in mares when administered at the Bai-hui or GV-1 acupoints.