Authors
1
department of animal science/university college of agriculture and natural resources/ university of Tehran/ Karaj/ Iran
2
department of animal science/university college of agriculture and natural resources/ university of Tehran/Kraj/Iran
Abstract
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Sheep farming has seen significant growth in recent decades and plays an important role in improving economic and social activities in many countries. Since the number of rams in the herds is much lower than the number of ewes (approximately one ram to 30 to 50 ewes), and many ewes are getting pregnant using artificial insemination, improving and maintaining the quality of ram sperm enhances and preserves the overall fertility of the herd. It has been stated that trace minerals in most body cells act either as catalysts or as components of enzyme systems. Therefore, using these minerals in the diet can affect semen quality. Mineral supplements play an important role in proper spermatogenesis and improving sperm characteristics. Some studies have shown that organic trace minerals have higher bioavailability compared to the inorganic form and their stability is higher, which ultimately leads to greater effectiveness compared to inorganic form. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of organic and inorganic trace mineral supplements on some quality parameters of Romanov ram sperm.
Materials and Methods: In the current study, 18 Romanov rams with an average weight of 57.5 ± 2.5 kg and an average age of 2.5 years were used. This study was conducted in a completely randomized design with three treatments and six replicates. Rams were randomly assigned to one of three following treatments: 1) Control, including a basal diet balanced with NRC; 2) Inorganic treatment, including the basal diet with a supplement of trace minerals in inorganic form ( 0.29 g of inorganic trace minerals per ram, daily, containing zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, manganese oxide, iron sulfate, sodium selenite, chromium oxide, and cobalt sulfate); and 3) Organic treatment, including the basal diet with a supplement of trace minerals based on advanced chelate compounds ( 0.7 g of BonzaPlex 7 per ram, daily, containing zinc, copper, manganese, iron, selenium, chromium, and cobalt) and they were fed for 90 days. Semen samples were collected from all rams on the 80th day of the experiment using an artificial vagina. After transferring the samples to the laboratory, sperm quality parameters (semen volume, sperm concentration, total motility, progressive motility, plasma membrane integrity, plasma membrane functionality, and the percentage of abnormal sperm) were evaluated.
Results: The results of this study showed that semen volume, total motility, progressive motility, and plasma membrane integrity and functionality were not affected by the treatments used (P > 0.05). Additionally, the findings indicated that sperm concentration in rams that received the organic trace mineral supplement was significantly higher compared to the control group (P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference compared to the inorganic treatment (P > 0.05). Furthermore, the data obtained from this experiment showed that the percentage of abnormal sperm in the organic treatment was significantly lower than inorganic and control groups (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Overall, the results of this study indicated that the organic trace mineral supplement may be able to improve some of the quality parameters of fresh ram sperm.
Keywords: Organic, Sperm, Inorganic, Ram, Minerals
Keywords
Main Subjects
)