The livestock sector is socially, culturally and politically very significant. It accounts for 40% of the world's agriculture Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It employs 1.3 billion people, and creates livelihoods for one billion of the world's population living in poverty. Climate change is seen as a major threat to the survival of many species, ecosystems and the financial sustainability of livestock production systems in many parts of the world. The potential problems are even greater in developing countries. Economic studies suggest severe losses if current management systems are not modified to reflect the shift in climate. In short, farmers/ managers need to adapt to the changes. There has been considerable interest in gaining an understanding how domestic livestock respond to climatic stressors. Studies have for the most part been undertaken in developed countries. These studies have provided a wealth of knowledge on differences between genotypes, the impact of climatic stress on production, reproduction and health. However little is known about adaptation of animals to rapid changes in climatic

Abstract. The present study was planned to study the effects of addition of different concentrations of catalase enzyme (0, 250, 500 and 1,000 IU/ml) to cooled dromedary camel semen extended with tris-yolk-fructose extender on semen quality during storage at 5 C for up to 5 days. Conception rates of she-camels artificially inseminated with whole fresh or extended cooled dromedary camel semen with or without 500 IU/ml catalase enzyme were also estimated. The results showed that addition of catalase enzyme at concentrations of 250 or 500 IU/ml to extended cooled dromedary camel semen significantly increased (P<0.01) the percentage of sperm motility and significantly decreased (P<0.01) the percentages of dead spermatozoa, sperm abnormalities and acrosomal damage. The highest (P<0.01) percentage of sperm motility was recorded with extended cooled dromedary camel semen supplemented with catalase enzyme at a concentration of 500 IU/ml, and the lowest (P<0.01) value was recorded with catalase enzyme at a concentration of 1000 IU/ml. On the other hand, the lowest (P<0.01) percentages of dead spermatozoa, sperm abnormalities and acrosomal damage of spermatozoa were recorded with extended cooled dromedary camel semen supplemented with 500 IU/ml, and the highest (P<0.01) values were recorded with catalase enzyme at a concentration of 1,000 IU/ml. Advancement of the storage time at 5 C significantly decreased (P<0.01) the percentage of sperm motility and significantly increased (P<0.01) the percentages of dead spermatozoa, sperm abnormalities and acrosomal damage of spermatozoa. Moreover, the conception rates of she-camels artificially inseminated with whole fresh, extended cooled dromedary camel semen free-catalase enzyme and extended cooled dromedary camel semen supplemented with catalase enzyme at a concentration of 500 IU/ml were 46.15, 22.22 and 37.50%, respectively. In conclusion, the results show that addition of catalase enzyme at a concentration of 500 IU/ml to semen extender can be used as an agent for prolongation of dromedary camel sperm cell survival during storage at 5 C. Key words: Catalase enzyme, Dromedary camel, Semen quality, Spermatozoa (J. Reprod. Dev. 54: [84][85][86][87][88][89] 2008) rtificial insemination with preserved semen is a prerequisite for any breeding strategy to maximize spread of superior racing and draught potential of selected males of domestic species of camel. Artificial insemination is also useful to combat venereal diseases. It can be especially advantageous in camels because females exhibit follicular waves [1]. Pregnancy rates of 50-60% have been reported in camels inseminated with fresh diluted semen used within 30 min of collection [2] but conception rate decreases dramatically to 25-30% if the semen is not used within 24 hr.Great attention has been given to development of extenders that will preserve the functional activity of spermatozoa (viability and fertilizing ability) during storage at different temperatures. Various media have been recommended for dilution and preserv...

A method has been devised which gives the distribution of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids of pure and adulterated cow and buffalo ghee with lard or margarine. It involves fractionation of pure and adulterated butterfat into fractions by fractional crystallization. The composition of the fatty acids liberated by the hydrolysis of each of the fractions was determined by gas chromatography. Adulteration of cow and buffalo ghee with various levels of lard or margarine caused significant changes in certain fatty acids, i.e., 22:0, 18:1, 18:0 and 16:0. It is possible to determine the extent of admixture of lard or margarine to either cow or buffalo ghee by applying a simple regression equation for certain fatty acids. This technique provides a basis for the detection of lipid adulteration.

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