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Influence of Dietary Zinc on Semen Traits and Seminal Plasma Antioxidant Enzymes and Trace Minerals of B eetal Bucks
Author(s) -
Rahman HU,
Qureshi MS,
Khan RU
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
reproduction in domestic animals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.546
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1439-0531
pISSN - 0936-6768
DOI - 10.1111/rda.12422
Subject(s) - semen , antioxidant , glutathione peroxidase , superoxide dismutase , sperm , chemistry , zoology , sperm motility , zinc , semen quality , medicine , endocrinology , food science , andrology , biology , biochemistry , organic chemistry
Contents Zinc ( Z n) is a potent antioxidant and plays a key role in scavenging free radicals. We hypothesized that supplementation of Z n would reduce the oxidative damage, which is linked with poor sperm quality. Sixteen bucks of similar average age (2 years) and body weight (41 kg) were randomly divided into four groups viz., 1, 2, 3 and 4 supplemented with zinc sulphate into the diet at the rate of 0, 50, 100 and 200 mg/buck/day, respectively, for 3 months. At the end of the experiment, semen samples were collected and assessed. Seminal plasma was separated to find the concentration of superoxide dismutase ( SOD ), glutathione peroxidase ( GP x), aspartate aminotransferase ( AST ), alanine aminotransferase ( ALT ) and trace minerals ( Z n, C u, M n and F e). The results revealed that semen volume (1.85 ± 0.01 ml) and sperm motility (88.23 ± 5.77%) increased significantly (p < 0.05) in supplemented groups compared with the control specifically in group 3. SOD (10.66 ± 0.23 inhibition rate %) and GP x (23.55 ± 0.49 mU/ml) increased significantly (p < 0.05) in group 3 with no effect on AST and ALT . Among seminal plasma trace elements, no significant change (p > 0.05) was observed. From the present results, we concluded that zinc sulphate at the rate of 100 mg/buck/day improved semen traits and seminal plasma antioxidant capacity in B eetal bucks.