Abstract
In the past 20 years has been observed a decline in the fertility of dairy cows, whose etiology is complex. Several factors have been identified as the cause of reduced fertility, among them metabolic disorders such as negative energy balance (NEB). Cows in NEB increase serum concentrations of ketone bodies, and the ²-hydroxybutyric acid (BOHB) is the main ketone body circulating in cows.…