Effect of Different Concentrations of Lavandula Angustifolia Extract On Semen Quality of Rooster during Storage in Liquid Condition

Abstract

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the effect of different levels of the Lavandula angustifolia extract on semen quality of broiler chickens during storage in a liquid condition at 4°C. Semen was collected from 10 Ross-308 broiler breeder roosters twice a week for 4 weeks, and immediately mixed together after the initial evaluation. The semen samples were divided into 5 parts after dilution and each received 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 µg/ml levels of Lavandula angustifolia extract. Semen quality parameters were evaluated at 0, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours after storage at 4°C. Adding different levels of Lavandula angustifolia extract resulted significant increase in total and progressive sperm motility after 6 hours of semen storage (P<0.05). The effect of Lavandula angustifolia extract on sperm survival rate was significant (P<0.05). So that treatment with 10 μg/ml of this extract at 12, 24 and 48 hours improved this parameter compared to control (P<0.05). Adding 10 μg/ml of Lavandula angustifolia extract to seminal fluid resulted significant increase in plasma membrane integrity of the sperm after 48 hours of semen storage (P<0.05). 24 and 48 hours after semen storage in liquid condition, the least amount of sperm abnormalities belonged to treatments of 10 and 15 μg/ml extract and the highest amount was in the control and high dose extract (P<0.05). In general, the addition of Lavandula angustifolia extract at 10 μg/ml to diluted semen of broiler roosters improved sperm parameters during semen storage at 4°C.