Semen Quality, Testicular Characteristic, Biochemical Profile and Histopathology of Testes of Goats Under Heat Stress Conditions

Abstract

High temperature during hot summer months is associated with poor animal reproductive performance. The study aimed to explore the seasonal thermal impacts on the bucks fertility. Twenty healthy mature bucks were used in this study. Depending on environmental temperature, bucks were equally divided into two groups: Winter season (n=10) and Summer season (n=10). Scrotal width, circumstances, length and diameter of right and left testicles, as well as length of right and left testicles were evaluated. From each goat, the semen samples were collected once a month during Summer and Winter seasons. Immediately after collection of semen, volume of semen, pH, concentration, motility, live sperm percentage, sperm morphology (1 st abnormalities and 2 nd abnormalities), sperm viability and intact acrosome were evaluated. Plasma triglyceride, cholesterol, glucose and testosterone concentrations were monitored. The results revealed that scrotal circumstances, length, diameter of right and left testicles and length of right and left testicles were lower (p<0.05) in Summer season than winter. Scrotal width was not different between the seasons. The Semen volume, concentration, motility, percentage of live sperm and intact acrosome in the Summer season were lower (p<0.05) compared to winter. Semen pH, 1 st abnormalities and 2 nd abnormalities in Summer season were higher (p<0.05) compared to winter. Plasma triglyceride, cholesterol, glucose and testosterone concentrations were decreased (p<0.05) during summer than in winter. Histopathological lesions were found in Summer group in comparison to winter. In conclusion, the findings confirm that a high temperature during summer conditions negatively affects bucks semen quality.

Testicular Biometry, Spermigram, and Biochemical Parameters In Male Goats

“…Testicular length, testicular diameter, and scrotal thickness were determined with a metal caliper precision of 0.01 mm [11]. The scrotal circumference, scrotum width, and scrotum length were measured by a tape measure [11,12].…”

“…About glucose (Cod: GL13 20, Biodiagnostic, Egypt) using a wavelength 510 nm (490-530), total protein (Cod; TP20 20, Biodiagnostic, Egypt) using a wavelength 550 nm (520-570), cholesterol (CHOD-PAP, Cod; 230001, Spectrum ® , Egypt) using wavelength 546 nm, albumin (Cod; ALB100250, BIO-TEC Egypt) using a wavelength 580-630 nm, and triglyceride (Medium-Chain Triglycerides, Cod; M4200, Spectrum ® , Egypt) using a wavelength 500-550 nm. The biochemical were measured by spectrophotometer (UV/VIS spectrometer-T80) [12].…”

The effect of ciplukan (Physalis angulate Linn.) leaf extract on the testicles of rats (Rattus norvegicus) exposed to heat

“…Further research is needed to reveal this issue. However, what certain was that increasing environmental temperature had been proven to reduce semen quality in experimental animals (Octaviani et al, 2021;Panggalih et al, 2021;Prastyaningtyas et al, 2021), as well as in livestock (Llamas-Luceño et al, 2020;Gloria et al, 2021;Sun et al, 2022;Mohamed et al, 2023;Moula et al, 2024). Therefore, efforts need to be made to maintain male fertility by controlling the temperature of the cage air and environment and providing antioxidants as additional feed (Pham and Schultz, 2021).…”

“…However, environmental temperatures that were higher than normal and persisted for a long time could disrupt male fertility. Several publications reported that increasing environmental temperature could reduce the semen quality of Mediterranean buffalo (Sun et al, 2022), Belgian Blue bulls (Gloria et al, 2021), Holstein Friesian bulls (Llamas-Luceño et al, 2020), ram (Moula et al, 2024), and buck (Mohamed et al, 2023).…”

“…Heat stress caused shrinkage of the seminiferous tubules walls and reduced the number of spermatocytes and spermatozoa. High temperatures during summer harmed semen quality (Mohamed et al, 2023).…”