Melatonin and Prolactin Concentrations in Blood of Cattle Exposed to 8, 16 or 24 Hours of Daily Light

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Abstract
In two experiments, 17-wk-old Holstein bulls exposed to 16 (Exp. 1) or 24 h (Exp. 2) of light daily were compared with bulls given 8 h of light. Blood was sampled at 30-min or 120-min intervals for 48 h at the beginning and again after 4 wk of light treatment. Melatonin concentrations varied episodically in serum, and means were 1.6-fold to 5.1-fold greater during darkness than during light periods. Continuous lighting abolished the nocturnal increase in concentrations of melatonin in three of four calves. Prolactin (PRL) was greater (P < .05) in calves receiving 16 h (30.9 ng/ml of serum) than in calves receiving 8 h (7.0 ng/ml) of light daily. Prolactin was not different between calves receiving 24 or 8 h of light daily. In a third experiment, one pinealectomized (PX) and two sham PX (SPX) calves were exposed to continuous lighting and infused with melatonin for 16 h/d for 5 wk, and one PX and two SPX calves were infused for 8 h daily. Melatonin infusion increased average concentrations of melatonin in serum 7.2-fold to 18-fold above baseline concentrations. Duration of melatonin infusion did not affect PRL (21.0 vs 20.8 ng/ml of serum). Also, surgical treatment did not affect PRL concentrations. Similarly, in a fourth experiment, PRL in postpubertal heifers fed melatonin to mimic an 8L:16D photoperiod averaged 27.1 ng/ml of serum, which was not different from PRL in heifers receiving 16L:8D and fed vehicle (32.6 ng/ml). We conclude that PRL and melatonin are each affected by photoperiod but are not causally related in catde. Copyright © 1988. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1988 by American Society of Animal Science