roosters' semen

This study was conducted to determine the probable suppressive role of certain grape components on detrimental effects of lipid peroxidation which accompanied with liquid storage of roosters' semen. A total of 60 White Leghorn roosters, 32 weeks of age, randomly divided into 6 groups of 10 roosters each were used in this experiment. Semen samples for each treatment group were collected on a weekly basis during the whole experiment period which lasted 10 weeks. Treatment groups were as follows: T1 = fresh semen (control group); T2 = semen diluted 1: 1 with Lake diluent (LD) alone; T3 = semen diluted with LD and supplemented with 4 ml of grape flavonoids; T4 = semen diluted with LD and supplemented with 4 ml of grape phenols; T5 = semen diluted with LD and supplemented with 4 mg of grape seed proanthocyanidins extract (GSPE); and T6 = semen diluted with LD and supplemented with 4 ml of grape juice concentrate (GJC). Results revealed that after 1, 7 and 14 d in vitro storage, the supplementation of roosters' semen diluent with certain grape components (T3, T4, T5 and T6) resulted in significant (p< 0.05) improvement in mass and individual motility of spermatozoa in comparison with control group (T1) and significant improvement in regard to percentages of live spermatozoa and normal spermatozoa and acrosomes compared with T1 and T2 groups. Besides, T3 and T5 groups surpasses all other treatments involved in the present study as concerns all of semen traits involved in the present study. In conclusion, grape components especially flavonoids and GSPE gave a good suppression against the detriments of lipid peroxidation during in vitro storage of roosters' semen for up to 14d. Key words: Grape constituents, semen quality, storage ability, roosters' semen

  In an attempt to find a suitable in vitro storage method for roosters' semen, an experiment was conducted to study the influence of inclusion pomegranate juice (PJ) into semen diluent on semen quality during liquid storage for up to 72 h. A total of 60 White Leghorn roosters, 40 weeks of age, randomly divided into 6 treatment groups (10 males each) were used in this study. Treatment groups were as follows: T1 = fresh semen, T2 = semen diluted 1:2 with Al – Daraji 2 diluent (AD2D) alone, T3 – T6 = semen diluted 1:2 with AD2D supplemented with 2 ml, 4 ml, 6 ml or 8 ml of PJ / 100 ml of diluent, respectively. Semen samples were assessed after in vitro storage at 4–6˚C for 24h, 48h or 72h as regards mass activity, individual motility and percentages of dead spermatozoa, abnormal spermatozoa and acrosomal abnormalities. Results revealed that supplementing the diluent of roosters semen with PJ (T3, T4, T5 and T6) and then store it for different storage periods (24 h, 48 h or 72 h) resulted in significant (p < 0.05) improvement in spermatozoa motility, viability, morphology and acrosomal integrity in comparison with control group (T1). Moreover, T5 and T6 surpasses other treatments with respect to these semen characteristics, while there were no significant differences between T2, T3 and T4 concerning all semen traits included in this study. In conclusion, the substitution of AD2D diluent composition with PJ significantly improves quality of roosters semen that in vitro stored for up to 72 h. Furthermore, the positive effect of PJ observed in this study may be due to enhanced sperm resistance to lipid peroxidation that naturally occurred during in vitro storage of avian semen.