Effect of dietary pomegranate peel (Punica granatum L.) and Aloe vera gel (Aloe barbadensis miller) supplementation on testicular antioxidant biomarkers and spermatogenesis enzymes in mature V‐Line rabbit bucks

Abstract

Rabbit meat is considered as an economic source of white meat, increasing its production is limited by the buck fertility, since one rabbit can be used to inseminate up to 15 female. The aim of the current study is to enhance male rabbit fertility by using dietary antioxidants including Aloe vera gel (AVG) and pomegranate peels (PP). In a 60 days experiment, 48 V‐Line 5‐month‐old rabbit bucks of average body weight (2,300 ± 20) kg were allocated into four dietary treatments (n = 12/group) as follow: CON (fed on control diet), ALOE (received AVG in drinking water; 500 mg/L drinking water), POM3 (fed on basal diet + 3% of pomegranate) and POM5 (fed on basal diet + 5% of pomegranate). Semen samples were collected at d30 and d60 of the experiment and used for analysis of semen quality. Sexual behaviour was reported in terms of latency to first mating and ejaculation interval. At the end of the experiment, six bucks were euthanized from each group, blood samples were collected and used for testosterone level determination and testicular tissue samples were collected and used for key antioxidant and spermatogenesis enzymes assessment, and testes histopathological evaluation. The UNIVARIATE procedures of SAS 9.4 were used to analyse the data, significance was declared at p ≤.05. PP supplementation improved percentage of progressive motile sperms while AVG negatively impacted it (p = .04), sperm concentration and metabolically active sperm cells were the highest in PP and lowest in ALOE supplemented bucks (p = .01 and .01; respectively). Testicular alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) decreased in AVG supplemented group (p = .01 and .02; respectively). From our findings, AVG in its fresh form decreased fertility of rabbit bucks, while PP is potent fertility boosting for rabbit bucks.

Effects of pomegranate peel and olive pomace supplementation on reproduction and oxidative status of rabbit doe

“…The concentrations of TAC and SOD from all the treatments were significantly higher compared with those of the control group. This follows the same trend as the findings of Bakeer et al, (2020) and Guo et al, (2008), who reported that the plasma antioxidant capacity increased when subjects consumed pomegranate juice; moreover, reduced MDA levels are evidence of reduced lipid peroxidation. Therefore, the antioxidant activity of pomegranate seems to be a result of its high contents of phenolic compounds (Moneim et al, 2011).…”

Effect of dietary pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) seed oil supplementation on reproductive performance and serum antioxidant capacity in male and nulliparous female V-Line rabbits

“…Semen samples were immediately assessed for pH (pH probe pH600, Milwakuee), semen volume, mass motility using a light microscope with thermostatically controlled hot stage adjusted at 38-40 C (Olympus, USA; and score 0-5 was used), individual motility (%), sperm viability (%), sperm abnormalities (%), and sperm concentration (The number of spermatozoa present on both sides of Neubauer haemocytometer slide (Marienfeld, USA). The semen evaluation process is detailed in our former report (Bakeer et al 2021).…”

Effect of poultry offal silage with or without betaine supplementation on growth performance, intestinal morphometry, spleen histomorphology of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fingerlings

“…One economic strategy to reduce feed cost while maintaining the optimal production level is to find dietary alternatives to the expensive and unavailable dietary ingredients. For instance, FM availability is limited in some parts of the world due to its high price and limited availability (Ogello et al, 2014; Bakeer et al, 2021). Therefore, in the current study, we investigated the replacement of FM with POS with or without betaine supplementation in Nile tilapia fish diet.…”