Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-vvkck Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T01:18:11.645Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of dietary n-3 fatty acids on characteristics and lipid composition of ovine sperm

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2010

F. Samadian ,
A. Towhidi ,
K. Rezayazdi  and
M. Bahreini
F. Samadian
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, Center of Excellence for Improvement of Sheep Carcass Quality and Quantity, Faculty of Agricultural Science and Engineering, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
A. Towhidi*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, Center of Excellence for Improvement of Sheep Carcass Quality and Quantity, Faculty of Agricultural Science and Engineering, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
K. Rezayazdi
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, Center of Excellence for Improvement of Sheep Carcass Quality and Quantity, Faculty of Agricultural Science and Engineering, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
M. Bahreini
Affiliation:
Animal Breeding Center of Iran, Ministry of Agriculture, Karaj, Iran
*
†E-mail: atowhidi@ut.ac.ir
Get access

Abstract

The fatty acid composition of sperm affects the fertilization rate. The objective was to investigate the effects of dietary fish oil (as a source of n-3 fatty acids) on semen quality and sperm fatty acid composition in sheep. Eight Zandi fat-tailed rams were randomly allocated into two groups and fed either a control diet or a diet supplemented with fish oil. Both diets were isocaloric and isonitrogenous and were fed for 13 weeks, starting in the middle of the breeding season. Semen samples were collected weekly and their characteristics evaluated by standard methods, whereas samples collected at the start and end of the study were assessed (gas chromatography) for sperm lipid composition. Mean (±s.e.m.) sperm concentrations (4.3 × 109 ± 1.3 × 108v. 3.9 × 109 ± 1.3 × 108 sperm/ml and percentages of motile (77.25 ± 3.34 v. 60.8 ± 3.34) and progressively motile sperm (74.13 ± 1.69 v. 62.69 ± 1.69) were significantly higher in the fish oil group than control. Dietary fish oil increased the proportion of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6 n-3) in sperm fatty acid composition. We concluded that feeding fish oil as a source of n-3 fatty acids attenuated seasonal declines in semen quality in rams, perhaps through increased DHA in sperm.

Keywords

spermfatty acidramfish oillipid composition
Type
Full Paper
Information
animal , Volume 4 , Issue 12 , December 2010 , pp. 2017 - 2022
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agriculture and Food Research Council (AFRC) 1995. Energy and protein requirement of ruminants. Technical Committee on Research to Nutrients. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.Google Scholar
Ashes, JR, Siebert, BD, Gulati, SK, Cuthbertson, AZ, Scott, TW 1992. Incorporation of n-3 fatty acids of fish oil into tissue and serum lipids of ruminants. Lipids 27, 629–631.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bearden, HJ, Fuquay, JW, Willard, ST 2004. Applied Animal Reproduction, 6th edition. Pearson Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA.Google Scholar
Blesbois, E, Douard, V, Germain, M, Boniface, P, Pellet, F 2004. Effects of n-3 polyunsaturated dietary supplementation on the reproductive capacity of male turkeys. Theriogenology 61, 537–549.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brinsko, SP, Varner, DD, Love, CC, Blanchard, TL, Day, BC, Wilson, ME 2005. Effect of feeding a DHA-enriched nutriceutical on the quality of fresh, cooled and frozen stallion semen. Theriogenology 63, 1519–1527.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Castellini, C, Lattaioli, P, Dal Bosco, A, Minelli, A, Mugnai, C 2003. Oxidative status and semen characteristics of rabbit buck as affected by dietary vitamin E, C and n-3 fatty acids. Reproduction Nutrition Development 43, 91–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cerolini, S, Zaniboni, L, Maldjian, A, Gliozzi, T 2006. Effect of docosahexaenoic acid and [alpha]-tocopherol enrichment in chicken sperm on semen quality, sperm lipid composition and susceptibility to peroxidation. Theriogenology 66, 877–886.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Conquer, JA, Martin, JB, Tummon, I, Watson, L, Tekpetey, F 1999. Fatty acid analysis of blood serum, seminal plasma, and spermatozoa of normozoospermic vs Asthernozoospermic males. Lipids 34, 793–799.Google Scholar
Cook, HW 1996. Fatty acid desaturation and chain elongation in eukaryotes. In Biochemistry of lipids, lipoproteins and membranes (ed. DE Vance and JE Vance), pp. 129–152. Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deldar-Tajangookeh, H, Zare-Shahne, A, Moradi-Shahrebabak, M, Shakeri, M 2007. Monthly variation of plasma concentration of testosterone and thyroid hormones and reproductive characteristics in three breed of Iranian fat-tailed rams throughout one year. Pakistan Journal of Biological Science 10, 3420–3424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dolatpanah, MB, Towhidi, A, Farshad, A, Rashidi, A, Rezayazdi, K 2008. Effects of dietary fish oil on semen quality of goats. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Science 21, 29–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dott, HM, Dingle, JT 1968. Distribution of lysosomal enzymes in the spermatozoa and cytoplasmic droplets of bull and ram. Experimental Cell Research 52, 523–540.Google Scholar
Folch, J, Lees, M, Sloane-Stanley, GH 1957. A simple method for the isolation and purification of total lipids from animal tissues. The Journal of Biological Chemistry 226, 497–509.Google Scholar
Hamilton, S, Hamilton, RJ, Sewell, PA 1992. Extraction of lipids and derivative formation. In Lipid analysis – a practical approach (ed. RJ Hamilton and S Hamilton), pp. 13–64. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.Google Scholar
Hammerstedt, RH 1993. Maintenance of bioenergetic balance in sperm and prevention of lipid peroxidation: a review of the effect on design of storage preservation systems. Reproduction, Fertility and Development 5, 675–690.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kelso, KA, Cerolini, S, Noble, RC, Sparks, NHC, Speake, BK 1996. Lipid and antioxidant changes in semen of broiler fowl from 25 to 60 weeks of age. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 106, 201–206.Google Scholar
Lenzi, A, Picardo, M, Gandini, L, Dondero, F 1996. Lipids of the sperm plasma membrane: from polyunsaturated fatty acids considered as markers of sperm function to possible scavenger therapy. Human Reproduction Update 2, 246–256.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mitre, R, Cheminade, C, Allaume, P, Legrand, P, Legrand, AB 2004. Oral intake of shark liver oil modifies lipid composition and improves motility and velocity of boar sperm. Theriogenology 62, 1557–1566.Google Scholar
Neill, AR, Masters, CJ 1973. Metabolism of fatty acids by ovine spermatozoa. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 34, 279–287.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Neuringer, M, Anderson, GJ, Connor, WE 1988. The essentiality of n-3 fatty acids for the development and function of the retina and brain. Annual Review of Nutrition 8, 517–541.Google Scholar
Parks, JE, Lynch, DV 1992. Lipid composition and thermotropic phase behavior of boar, bull, stallion, and rooster sperm membranes. Cryobiology 29, 255–266.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paulenz, H, Taugbol, O, Kommisrud, E, Grevle, IS 1999. Effect of dietary supplementation with cod liver oil on cold shock and freezability of boar semen. Reproduction in Domestic Animals 34, 431–435.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poulos, A, Sharp, P, Johnson, D, White, I, Fellenberg, A 1986. The occurrence of polyenoic fatty acids with greater than 22 carbon atoms in mammalian spermatozoa. Biochemical Journal 240, 891–895.Google Scholar
Rooke, JA, Shao, CC, Speake, BK 2001. Effects of feeding tuna oil on the lipid composition of pig spermatozoa and in vitro characteristics of semen. Reproduction 121, 315–322.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sardesai, VM 1992. Biochemical and nutritional aspects of eicosanoids. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry 3, 562–579.Google Scholar
Scott, TW, Voglmayr, JK, Setchel, BP 1967. Lipid composition and metabolism in testicular and ejaculated ram spermatozoa. Biochemical Journal 102, 456–461.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stubbs, CD, Smith, AD 1984. The modification of mammalian membrane polyunsaturated fatty acid composition in relation to membrane fluidity and function. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) – Reviews on Biomembranes 779, 89–137.Google Scholar
Surai, PF, Noble, RC, Sparks, NH, Speake, BK 2000. Effect of long-term supplementation with arachidonic or docosahexaenoic acids on sperm production in the broiler chicken. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 120, 257–264.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Surai, PF, Blesbois, E, Grasseau, I, Chalah, T, Brillard, JP, Wishart, GJ, Cerolini, S, Sparks, NH 1998. Fatty acid composition, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activity and total antioxidant activity of avian semen. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part B, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology 120, 527–533.Google Scholar
Wathes, DC, Abayasekara, DRE, Aitken, RJ 2007. Polyunsaturated fatty acids in male and female reproduction. Biology of Reproduction 77, 190–201.Google Scholar
Zaniboni, L, Rizzi, R, Cerolini, S 2006. Combined effect of DHA and α-tocopherol enrichment on sperm quality and fertility in the turkey. Theriogenology 65, 1813–1827.Google Scholar