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. 2021 May;34(5):844-854.
doi: 10.5713/ajas.20.0258. Epub 2020 Jun 24.

Relief of the negative effects of heat stress on semen quality, reproductive efficiency and oxidative capacity of rabbit bucks using different natural antioxidants

Ibrahim Talat El-Ratel  1 , Kandil Abdel Hai Attia  2 , Ali Ali El-Raghi  3 , Sara Fikry Fouda  4
Affiliations

Relief of the negative effects of heat stress on semen quality, reproductive efficiency and oxidative capacity of rabbit bucks using different natural antioxidants

Ibrahim Talat El-Ratel et al. Anim Biosci. 2021 May.

Abstract

Objective: The potential of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), betaine (BET), and ginger (GIN), as natural antioxidants, in reducing negative effects of heat stress on physiological responses, antioxidant capacity, semen quality and fertility of bucks under heat stress were investigated.

Methods: Forty adult Animal Production Research Institute line rabbit bucks were distributed randomly into four experimental treatments of ten rabbits each. The first treatment was fed the commercial pellet diet (CPD) without supplementation and served as a control. The other three treatments were fed CPD supplemented with EVOO (300 mg), BET (1,000 mg), and GIN (200 mg) per kg diet for 3 consecutive months during the summer season.

Results: Supplementation of EVOO, BET, or GIN improved (p<0.05) the sexual desire, progressive motility, vitality, intact acrosome and membrane integrity, sperm cell concentration, sperm outputs and fertility. Seminal plasma total proteins, globulin, total antioxidant capacity, glutathione and glutathione S-transferase, and initial fructose increased (p<0.05), while total lipids, aspartate and alanine aminotransferases and malondialdehyde decreased (p<0.05) compared with the control. In comparing the natural antioxidants treatments, GIN evoked the largest improvement.

Conclusion: The inclusion of GIN (200 mg/kg diet) appeared to improve the sexual desire, semen quality and oxidative stress of bucks. This may be a beneficial supplement for the management of rabbit bucks used in natural mating or artificial insemination.

Keywords: Heat Stress; Natural Antioxidant; Rabbit Bucks; Semen Quality; Seminal Plasma Constituents.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

We certify that there is no conflict of interest with any financial organization regarding the material discussed in the manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effect of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), betaine (BET), and ginger (GIN) supplementation on reaction time of rabbit bucks under heat stress (n = 10 in each group). * p-value of treatment was 0.0001 according to one-way analysis of variance.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), betaine (BET), and ginger (GIN) supplementation on plasma testosterone concentration of rabbit bucks under heat stress (n = 5 in each group. * p-value of treatment was 0.012 according to one-way analysis of variance.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Pregnancy and parturition rates of rabbit does naturally mated by bucks treated with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), betaine (BET), and ginger (GIN). (See Table 7 for doe numbers of total, mated, and delivered does). * p-value was 0.009 for pregnancy rate and 0.167 for parturition rate according to χ2 −test.
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