Increase of hepatic nitric oxide levels in a nutritional model of fatty liver in broiler breeder hens

Fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome (FLHS) is a metabolic condition of laying hens characterized by the accumulation of excess fat in the liver and liver hemorrhage. It suggested that oxidative damage to the cellular and organelle membranes of the liver increases the susceptibility of the liver to hemorrhage. However, a local chemical component that may affect the incidence of hemorrhage in liver, by affecting the blood pressure of liver, is nitric oxide. To clarify the effects of high (20 and 40% more than normal) and low (20% less than normal) food intake on plasma and liver oxidative products, malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyl (PC), and also nitric oxide (NO) in over fed broiler breeder hens, 198 hens (30 weeks old) were fed for 30 days (two 14-day period). Feed intake, body weight (BW), egg production (EP), plasma NO, MDA and CP were measured at the end of each 14-day periods. Food intake did not reduce during 4 weeks of experiment in hens fed with 20 and 40% above their estimated requirement. Increased food intake resulted in increased body weight gain significantly (P < 0.05). Egg production significantly declined in hens provided with C+40% diet (P < 0.05). Liver MDA, NO and PC concentrations were increased in C+40% hens in second period of experiment (P < 0.05). Liver hemorrhage score of hens fed C+40% diet significantly was higher in the second period of the experiment. It was concluded that an increase in liver hemorrhage in over fed broiler breeder can be associated with the oxidative stress components (MDA, PC) and liver NO concentration.Keywords: Fatty liver, nitric oxide, malondialdehyde, protein carbonyl, broiler breederAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 9(35), pp. 5775-5778, 30 August, 201

Lecithin nanoparticles enhance the cryosurvival of caprine sperm

P. 38-44This study was designed to compare the effects on goat spermatozoa cryosurvival of nano-lecithin-based (NL), lecithin-based (L) and egg yolk-based (EY) extenders. Ejaculates were collected from four fertile goats using artificial vagina and diluted with nine extenders. NL and L were tested at concentrations 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% (w/v), versus 15% (v/v) egg yolk-based extender. Overall, sperm quality (higher motility, viability and HOST, and lower apoptosis) was higher for NL than for L treatments (P < 0.05 for most cases, except for 1%). NL at 1% and especially at 4% showed lower motility and viability than 2% or 3% NL. NL at 2% achieved a better performance (P < 0.05) than EY for VCL (131.5 ± 1.3 vs. 120.3 ± 1.9 μm/s), VSL (43.9 ± 1.5 vs. 35.8 ± 1.4 μm/s), LIN (35.7 ± 0.6 vs. 29.3 ± 0.8%), WOB (47.0 ± 0.5 vs. 43.9 ± 0.9%) and viability (66.4 ± 1.7 vs. 52.7 ± 1.9%). Late apoptotic spermatozoa were also lower in 2% NL compared to EY (16.0 ± 0.5 vs. 26.3 ± 1.1%, P < 0.001). EY and 2% NL were compared in an IVF trial, with no significant differences in cleavage (68.8 vs. 70.8%) or blastocyst ratios (21.3 vs. 20.8%). In conclusion, using 2% nanolecithin in semen dilution could improve sperm cryosurvival of goat.S

Trehalose and glycerol have a dose-dependent synergistic effect on the post-thawing quality of ram semen cryopreserved in a soybean lecithin-based extender

P. 275-282The objective of this study was to examine the interaction of different concentrations of trehalose [0 (T0), 50 (T50) or 100 (T100) mM] and glycerol [5% (G5) or 7% (G7)] on post-thawed quality of ram semen, cryopreserved in a soybean lecithin (SL)-based extender. Twenty-eight ejaculates were collected from four rams and diluted with six trehalose/glycerol combinations: T0G5, T50G5, T100G5, T0G7, T50G7, and T100G7. Sperm motility (CASA), membrane integrity (eosin/nigrosin) and functionality (HOST), abnormal forms, capacitation status (CTC), mitochondrial activity (rhodamine 123), apoptotic features (Annexin V/propidium iodide) and lipoperoxidation (malondialdehyde production) were evaluated after thawing. Extender T100G5 yielded the highest results for total and progressive motility, sperm velocity, normal morphology, functional membranes, active mitochondria and membrane integrity, with P 0.05). The combinations T0G5, T0G7 and T100G7 yielded the lowest post-thaw quality. We could not detect significant changes in other kinematic parameters, capacitation status or lipoperoxidation. We conclude that, in our SL-based extender, a combination of 100 mM trehalose and 5% glycerol was the most adequate combination to achieving post-thawing quality in our soybean lecithin-based extender, and our results support that a synergistic effect among trehalose and glycerol exists. We suggest that other combinations could improve these results.S

Cervical dilation and improvement of reproductive performance in fat-tailed ewes via cervical dilator treatments

Objective: To determine the effect of different cervical dilators on cervical dilation and reproductive performance of fat-tailed ewes.Methods: In experiment 1 140 ewes were divided into seven groups with seven different treatments as following: 10 mL normal saline (control group), 100 IU oxytocin (OT group), 100 μg estradiol and 100 IU oxytocin (E2+OT group), 5 mL relaxin (R group), 2 mL sensiblex (SEN group), 200 μg misoprostol (MIS group) or 200 μg dinoprostone (DIN group). In experiment 2, artificial insemination was applied for evaluation of reproductive performance in experimental groups.Results: In experiment 1, the highest cervical dilation was observed in OT (90%) and E2+OT (100%) groups (P<0.05), while no significant differences was found among DIN, MIS, SEN and R groups (80%, 75%, 70% and 65%, respectively). In addition, the lowest cervical dilation was observed in control group. Experiment 2 found no significant differences among control, OT and E2+OT groups. The highest pregnancy rate, parturition rate and lambing rate were observed in OT groups (60%, 60% and 70%, respectively) and E2+OT groups (65%, 60% and 70%, respectively) compared to SEN, R, MIS and DIN groups (P<0.05).Conclusions: Oxytocin treatment alone or with estradiol could be used as a suitable dilator for improving reproductive efficiency during artificial insemination in fat-tailed ewes

Fatty Acid Prof iles of Ram&apos;s Sperm after Removing Some Fatty Acid Sources from the Diets and Persistency of Fatty Acids in Sperm

Abstract Background: Mammalian spermatozoa are characterized by a high proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), but reliable data concerning dietary effects on fatty acid (FA) profile in ram&apos;s sperm and the persistency of FA in the ration to the FA in sperm has not been reported. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the stability of saturated and unsaturated FAs in ram&apos;s sperm despite removing FA sources from their diet