Semen quality improvement in boars fed with supplemental wolfberry (Lycium barbarum)

Abstract

Wolfberry is well known for its health benefits in Asian countries. This study consisted of two experiments. In Experiment 1, nine boars were provided 40 g dried wolfberry per 100 kg body weight per day in addition to regular feed for 160 days (divided into 40 days phases: I, II, III, and IV) under step‐down air temperature conditions. Controls (n = 9) were fed regular feed only. Significant (p < .05 or p < .01) or slight improvements in sperm progressive motility, total abnormality rate, sperm concentration, and total sperm per ejaculate were observed in the wolfberry group during phases II and III. No differences were observed in semen volume. After combining the data from phases II ~ IV, significant improvements were detected in all aforementioned traits (p < .05 or p < .01), except semen volume. In Experiment 2, the wolfberry group (n = 5) was fed wolfberry for 90 days and exhibited significantly reduced head, tail, and total abnormality rates (p < .05 or p < .01) in both fresh semen and semen stored for 72 hr at 17°C compared to the control group (n = 5). SOD activity also significantly increased in this group of boars. Collectively, the findings of this study suggest that wolfberry has a positive effect on boar semen quality.

Could Dietary Supplementation with Different Sources of N-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Modify the Rabbit Gut Microbiota?

“…A higher relative abundance of Bacteroidetes was instead found in fish oil-supplemented rabbits compared to the control group. This result was expected, as the association between dietary n-3 PUFA intake and Bacteroidetes increase has already been demonstrated in humans and mice [13,42,56]. This is extremely interesting, considering the Bacteroidetes' positive role in modulating health status, in particular, in the context of diseases such as obesity [57].…”

Impact of Goji Berries (Lycium barbarum) Supplementation on the Energy Homeostasis of Rabbit Does: Uni- and Multivariate Approach

“…The effects of the goji berries are mainly studied in laboratory animals such as mice and rats [9,10,13] and only a few trials were conducted using the rabbit [14][15][16] although it is considered a useful experimental animal model [17][18][19][20][21][22]. Moreover, only a limited number of researches evaluated the effects of goji berry on the reproductive and productive performance, other than on the quality of meat, in livestock animals, rabbits included [15,16,[23][24][25].…”

Goji Berries Supplementation in the Diet of Rabbits and Other Livestock Animals: A Mini-Review of the Current Knowledge

“…The pro-sexual activity of LPBs was demonstrated on normal and sexually inhibited rats, probability through its effects on neurogenesis ( 94 ). In boars ( 47 ) and Cashmere goats ( 48 ), the semen quality was improved when LBPs were administered alone in the diet or in the base extender of semen samples in association with Laminaria japonica polysaccharide, respectively. The positive effect of LPBs on ovarian injuries induced by repeated superovulation has been investigated in mice ( 95 ).…”