Concentrations of L-ergothioneine in follicular fluids of farm animals

Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the concentration
of L-ergothioneine in follicular fluid of some domestic
farm animals, such as mare, sheep, goat, sow, and unweaned
lamb. The group of unweaned lambs was the cluster with the
lowest mean concentration (0.12±0.06 μmol/L), while the
mares showed the highest mean values (3.16±1.27 μmol/L).
The mean levels in the sheep and goats were similar (0.72±
0.21 vs. 0.73±0.50 μmol/L), while the mean values in the
sows were slightly higher (1.04±0.37 μmol/L) than the other
two groups. Except for sheep vs. goats, the differences in the
concentrations of L-ergothioneine between animal groups
were statically significant. After grouping data according to
the follicular diameter, a not statistically significant trend of
increase of L-ergothioneine levels with the rise of follicular
diameter was observed in sheep, goats, and unweaned lambs while an opposite tendency was observed in mares.