Factors Modifying the Excretion of Fecal Androgens in the Cow

The function of androgens in the female is becoming recognized as one of considerable importance.Accumulating evidence indicates that androgens may play an important role in determining the normal processes associated with the estrous cycle.Salmon and Geist (23) have shown that.androgens stimulate sexual libido in the human female and Cole et al. (2) report similar results with the ewe.Selye (24) states that androgens are a potent means of terminating menstruation--and that testosterone produces mammary development in the female rat.Since McGee (19) first extracted the male hormone from bull testes in 1927, investigations of androgen excretion have been confined almost entirely to the urine.In 1942 Riley and Hammond (22) showed, however, that the feces of dairy cows had considerable androgenic activity as determined by precocious comb and wattle growth in chicks given cow feces in the diet.There was also a retardation of gonadal development of the chicks.Fees of cows both with and without access to pasture contained the active principle in similar concentrations, a fact leading the authors to conclude that androgen is not derived from the diet.On the other hand, bull feces showed no evidence of androgen content.Turner (25 to 29) and Longwell and Gassner (8, 18), have confirmed and extended the findings of Riley and Hammond.The purpose of the present study is to investigate factors modifying the fecal excretion of androgens in the cow, and to determine the possible relationship between the fecal androgen level and certain reproductive disorders in cattle. EXPERIMENTALThe animals used in these studies were Jersey and Holstein cows from the Division of Animal Husbandry herd with the exception of four Jerseys and one Guernsey with cystic ovaries purchased from nearby breeders.The method of assay used was that described by Riley and Hammond (22), with the exception that day-old White Leghorn cockerels were used in place of Rhode Island Red chicks and the feeding period was shortened to 14 days.White Leghorns were used because they were most readily available at the time the study was initiated.Dorfman (4) has shown since that the White Leghorn comb is 10 to