A preliminary study on the effect of dietary supplementation with cod liver oil on the polyunsaturated fatty acid composition of boar semen

Abstract

Eight mature Norwegian Landrace boars, of proven fertility and in routine semen production for AI, were fed individually with the same basic diet for 9 weeks. One group of 4 animals served as the control, the remaining 4 boars received a daily supplement of 75 ml cod liver oil (CLO-group). Fifteen consecutive semen samples were collected from each boar. The fatty acid composition of the semen was determined, and the content of the 15 most numerous fatty acids with a chain length longer than 12 carbon atoms was followed over time. In both groups, the proportion of 16:1n-7 decreased significantly, while 16:0 and 22:6n-3 (DHA) increased. By the end of the experiment, DHA had tended to increase and 22:5n-6 to decrease to a greater extent in the CLO-group. A significant difference between the groups was seen for one n-6 PUFA (22:4n-6), which remained unchanged in the control group but decreased in the CLO-group. No change was seen in docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-3) and eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3) was not found in any sample. These results indicate that CLO supplementation affects the fatty acid composition of boar semen. There were no significant differences in the non-return rates (4-25 days) between the two groups before, during or after the experiment.

Oxidative status and semen characteristics of rabbit buck as affected by dietary

“…Many authors [6][7][8][9] have reported that dietary supplementation with LCP n-3 fatty acids in males of several species is fixed in the sperm membrane, resulting in improved spermatozoa characteristics. Such enrichment of the cell membrane simultaneously increases the susceptibility of spermatozoa to peroxidation, which in turn has been proposed as one of the major causes of male infertility [10,11].…”

Conjugated linoleic acid supplementation does not improve boar semen quality and does not change its fatty acid profile

“…35,36 However, other experiments supplementing boar diets with PUFAs ω-3 and ω-6 improved the quality of seminal characteristics, modifying the fatty acid composition of the sperm. 1,6,7 Although seminal characteristics were not affected by CLA intake during the experimental period, the increase in sperm concentration and viability and the decrease in abnormal morphology may be related to seasonal changes in temperature.…”

Viabilidade seminal pré e pós-criopreservação em touros suplementados com gordura protegida e/ou antioxidantes

“…O ácido linoleico dietético, abundante nos óleos vegetais, é um dos representantes da família n-6, o qual é convertido em ácido aracdônico, precursor das prostaglandinas dienóicas, como a PGF2α. As mesmas enzimas, elongase e dessaturase, que atuam na conversão do ácido linoleico em aracdônico, também convertem o principal ácido graxo n-3, o ácido linolênico a DHA e ácido eicosapentaenóico (EPA), precursor das prostaglandinas trienóicas, como PGF3α (WATHES; ABAYASEKARA; AITKEN, 2007;PAULENZ et al, 1995).…”

“…De fato, dietas ricas em AGP de cadeia longa (especialmente n-3) alteraram a proporção de AGP n-3 e n-6 e influenciaram na qualidade seminal, em bodes (DOLATPANAH et al, 2008) e carneiros (SAMADIAN et al, 2010). Entretanto, apesar de suínos terem a proporção de AGP n-6 no sêmen aumentada, não foi observado efeito deste sêmen nas taxas de não retorno (PAULENZ et al, 1995). 87,96 (9,11) 68,50 (7,96) 75,90 (7,93) 82,15 AGP n-6 240,55ab (24,96) 230,40a (21,80) 218,56a (21,73) 299,48b (27,28) 0,07 0,16 0,33 AGP n-3 5,12 (4,47) 11,57 (3,90) 4,97 (3,89) 3,11 (4,88) 0,34 0,61 0,33 Saturados 583,25 (44,40) 573,41 (38,78) 617,06 (38,66) 583,36 (48,53) 0,43 0,32 0,99 Monoinsaturados 92,32 (9,78) 74,57 (8,54) 78,48 (8,52) 91,47 (10,69) 0,12 0,81 0,87 AGP 247,92 (25,03) 246,66 (21,91) 226,21 (21,84) 302,42 (27,42) 0,12 0,14 0,49…”

“…No entanto, concordando com nossos resultados, esta dieta não afetou a porcentagem de espermatozoides móveis e anormais. Em outro estudo, fonte de AGP n-3 adicionada à dieta por nove semanas, apesar de alterar a proporção de AGP n-6 no sêmen de suínos, não afetou as taxas de não retorno ao cio de fêmeas suínas inseminadas com este sêmen (PAULENZ et al, 1995). Da mesma forma, a adição de gordura animal hidrogenada, óleo de peixe contendo 18% de DHA e 15% de EPA ou 33% de DHA e 6,5% de EPA em dietas para suínos por seis meses, também não interferiu na motilidade, morfologia, viabilidade, integridade acrossomal, integridade de cromatina e susceptibilidade a oxidação de espermatozoides, antes da criopreservação (CASTELLANO et al, 2010).…”