ENHANCING ANTIOXIDANT STATUS, SEMEN QUALITY AND FERTILITY OF V-LINE RABBIT BUCKS FED ON SUPPLEMENTED DIETS WITH PUMPKIN SEED POWDER

Shahba, Hossam; Hamed, Rawia Sadek; Abou-Shehema, Bahaa Mohamed

doi:10.21608/epsj.2023.332581

ENHANCING ANTIOXIDANT STATUS, SEMEN QUALITY AND FERTILITY OF V-LINE RABBIT BUCKS FED ON SUPPLEMENTED DIETS WITH PUMPKIN SEED POWDER

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Rabbit, Turkey and Waterfowl Research Department, Animal Production Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Giza, Egypt.

² animal production research institute

³ Animal Production Research Institute, poultry nutrition specialist, Agriculture Research Center, Egypt

10.21608/epsj.2023.332581

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of supplemented pumpkin seed powder (PKSP) in the diet of V-line rabbit bucks in comparison to zinc oxide (ZnO) on blood hematology, serum biochemical parameters, semen quality, and fertility. Thirty-five male V-Line rabbits at 120 days of age were randomly distributed into five dietary treatments (7 bucks each) as follows: control (fed a basic diet), ZnO treatment (fed a basic diet supplemented with 150 mg/kg diet), the third, fourth and fifth treatments were fed a basic diet supplemented with different levels of PKSP (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0g/kg diet) respectively. Results showed that red blood cells (RBC) and lymphocytes were significantly increased (P <0.05) in ZnO treatment and groups supplemented with 1.0 or 2.0 g PKSP/kg diet, compared with the control. Bucks fed a diet supplemented with 2.0 g of PKSP/kg significantly increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and decreased very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) compared with other experimental groups. Rabbit bucks in ZnO treatment or 2.0 g PKSP/kg diet significantly increased total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in serum and seminal plasma compared with other experimental groups. Meanwhile, testosterone concentration in both serum and seminal plasma were significantly increased in the group that received 2.0 g PKSP /kg diet compared with others, but not significantly when compared to ZnO treatment. Also, ZnO treatment or 2.0g PKSP/kg diet represented higher values of semen quality and fertility. In conclusion: PKSP favorably affected rabbit hematology, lipid profile, antioxidant status, testosterone level, and semen quality, especially at the level of 2.0 g PKSP/kg diet.

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