Purpose:The study evaluated the semen, haematological and antioxidant status of rabbit bucks fed ginger, garlic and onion supplemented diets under a severely heat stressed condition. This is to evaluate the effect of heat stress and spice supplementation on seminal parameters, haematology and antioxidant capacity of rabbit buck raised in the tropics.Research Method: Fifty -five bucks were allotted to 11 treatments comprising of control diet, three each of ginger, garlic and onion at 5g, 10g and 15g/kg feed plus positive control diet. Seminal, haematological and antioxidant traits of the bucks and their pen's Temperature -Humidity index (THI) were observed for 8 weeks.Findings: ) recorded during the study indicated the prevalence of severe to very severe heat stress. Heat stress impacted negatively more on sperm morphology than on other seminal parameters. Sperm cell motility, viability and abnormality were similar within supplemented groups and the controls. Semen volume and concentration were highest in animals fed garlic at 10 and 15g/kg feed respectively. Spice supplementation had no significant effect (p>0.05) on the haematology and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of the experimental animals.
Originality/value:The study concluded that spice supplementation mitigated heat stress effect on sperm cell morphology and was not deleterious on haematology and TAC of the bucks.
Syzygium aromaticum (Clove) is a small evergreen tree of the myrtle family known for its unopened reddish-brown flower bud with strong aromatic flavor that are used for culinary purpose and are believed to have aphrodisiac properties. The objective of the experiment was to assess the effect of clove extract on hormone profile of West African Dwarf (WAD) bucks. One hundred and fifty WAD bucks with average weights of 10kg were randomly assigned to five treatments with 30bucks per treatment in a completely randomized design. Treatment A (control) and B were subcutaneously administered 0.1mL/kg of normal saline solution and 0.1mL/kg sildenafil citrate, respectively. Treatments C, D and E were administered 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3mL/kg of clove extract, respectively. The result showed a significant increase in WBC while PCV decreased with corresponding increase in extract doses. The extracts also significantly cause a reduction in creatinine, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) with a significant increase in serum urea and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). There were significant increase in serum testosterone and prolactin while follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone were reduced. It was therefore concluded that subcutaneous administration of syzygium aromaticum extract could enhance sexual function at low doses of 0.1mL/kg body weight of bucks with no observable tissue damage.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.