Early Detection of Pregnancy in Non-Descript Goats (Capra hircus) in the Philippines using Pregnancy-Associated Glycoproteins (PAGs) as Biomarkers through Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)

Early and accurate method of pregnancy diagnosis is crucial in goat production to shorten the kidding interval that eventually will result to the increase in production efficiency of the animals. Recent development in pregnancy diagnosis involves the use of Pregnancy – associated glycoproteins (PAGs) as biomarkers that can be detected in the maternal circulation in the definitive time of placental attachment. The present study aims to detect early pregnancy in naturally-bred goats using PAG as biomarkers using PAG-Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay test kit and compare the levels of PAG between pregnant and non-pregnant goats. A commercial PAG-ELISA (BioPRYN Flex®) was used to detect early pregnancy in goats. Thirty (n = 30) non-descript goats were subjected to natural breeding followed by blood collection post-breeding. Of 30 naturally-bred goats, 23 (76.67%) were categorized as pregnant based on PAG level at day 23 post-breeding. The pregnancy status of the 23 pregnant goats was confirmed using transrectal ultrasonography at days 30–35 post-breeding. Additionally, significant differences between the PAG level of pregnant and non-pregnant goats were observed on days 20, 23, 25, 28 and 30 post-breeding. The mean PAG level of non-pregnant goats remained low on days 15 to 30 post-breeding. The present study demonstrated and appeared to be the first in the Philippines to use PAG as a biomarker for early detection of pregnancy in naturally-bred goats through plasma PAG-ELISA. Lastly, the use of PAG-ELISA is a reliable tool and can be used as an alternative to detect early pregnancy in goats.