The basis of the pathogenesis of male infertility is the processes of peroxide oxidation of biological substrates, especially lipids and proteins. By destroying the sperm membrane, toxic peroxidation products reduce its motility and ability to fertilize the egg, which is determined by a decrease in the number of motile sperm in the ejaculate. These changes lead to complete or partial male infertility. The authors of the review found that is accompanied by a damaging effect on the structural and functional activity of the gonads and is manifested, in particular, by an imbalance in the hormonal background of the male body. Similar effects are characteristic of an increase in the content of reactive Nitrogen species and its metabolites, which cause nitrosative stress, which is also the cause of male hypofertility and is inseparable from the state of oxidative stress. In scientific work it is determined that the accumulation of harmful peroxidation products leads to damage and destruction of sperm DNA, reduced activity of acrosomal enzymes and mitochondrial potential of sperm, reduced overall antioxidant activity. This makes it impossible for an adequate response of the body. Multi component antioxidant defense system resists stress. It is represented by enzymatic and non-enzymatic links, which can neutralize harmful radicals and peroxidation products. It contributes to the full manifestation of reproductive function. The presence of powerful antioxidant properties of catalase, superoxide dismutase, and enzymes of the thiol-disulfide system, which form the enzymatic system of antioxidant protection, as well as selenium, zinc, copper, other trace elements, retinol, tocopherol, ascorbic acid, and vitamins as parts of the non-enzymatic system is shown. The efficiency of registration is substantiated thin biochemical shift detectors or complex methods, such as total antioxidant status of sperm or sperm plasma, mitochondrial membrane potential, etc along with simple markers of oxidative stress, such as diene conjugates, malonic dialdehyde, and metabolites of the Nitrogen Oxide cycle. Given the leading role of oxidative stress in the development of male hypofertility, the prospect of further research is the search for modern means for correction, especially among substances with pronounced redox activity

Studies have shown that the use of herbal feed additives «Fitopank» by Grey Ukrainian cows 30 days before calving had a positive effect not only on the body of cows-mothers and the quality of their colostrum, but also on the physiological state of the born calves and the growth energy of young animals. Adding of «Fitopank» to the cows diet helped to improve the quality of colostrum and its immunological value. It showed a probable increase of total protein by 10-14 % (P < 0.05) and immunoglobulin level by 23-25 % (P < 0.01). The titratable acidity of both the first and second milk yields was 16 % lower (P < 0.01) than in the control group. The use of this feed additive improved the immunological status of newborn calves. In their blood there was an increase of total protein content by 17 % (P < 0.05), the level of gamma globulins by 18% (p < 0.05), IgG concentrations by 14 % (p < 0.05), Ig M by 13 % and Ig A by 17 % (p<0.05), as well as the growth of T-lymphocytes by 46% and B-lymphocytes by 24 % (p < 0.01), compared with control group. Detected increased growth of the 8-12 months bulls (by 2.3%, p < 0.05) of the experimental group may indicate their tendency for better development of meat qualities. Experiment showed that the absolute live weight increase of young animals up to 18 months was higher than the control by 10.9 kg (p < 0.05). The study of the herbal supplements efficacy for the prevention and treatment of animals immunodeficiency, as well as their impact on the metabolic processes and productive qualities of farm animals will be the focus of our further research.

Infertility is widespread for all species of animals and causes significant economic losses to livestock due to the loss and shortage of offspring, their reduced viability and, consequently, increased morbidity and mortality. Alimentary-deficiency factors are among the commonest causes of infertility, from which A-vitamin deficiency should be singled out. The precursor of vitamin A in the body is carotene, which is an unstable compound which is easily destroyed even under the influence of moderate factors of influence, in connection with which its deficiency is global, especially at the end of the winter – stall period of keeping animals. Accordingly it is the leading etiological factor of retinol deficiency infertility. As a result, the body has two negatives that act in parallel: carotene / vitamin A deficiency adversely affects the organs, the constituent and major functional unit of which is the secretory epithelial cell, and the free radical oxides formed in high concentration are extremely effective in destroying the cells, weakening antioxidant protection. Vitamin A has a significant effect on the reproductive function of animals both directly and indirectly. It is necessary to ensure the structure and functioning of the epithelial tissues of the organs of regulation and performance of sexual function, and therefore the physiological development of the fetus and the course of pregnancy, parturition and postpartum period, ovo- and spermiogenesis, the manifestation of sexual reflexes. Instead, its deficiency underlies the etiology and pathogenesis of retinol deficiency infertility of animals, causing changes in individual indices of homeostasis and prooxidate-antioxidant system, morphostructure of the reproductive and endocrine organs, hormonal status, sperm quality and reproductive function. The consequence is the emergence and development of gynecological, andrological, mammological and perinatal (ante-, intra-, post- and neo-) pathologies. At the same time, the addition of carotene or retinol to the diets of animals or their oral administration in cases of deficiency of vitamin A prevents impaired reproductive function. The study of the features of the etiopathogenesis of retinol deficiency infertility of animals allows programs of complex diagnostics, therapy and prevention to be developed which provide determination of carotene and vitamin A content and replenishment of the organism in cases of their deficiency.

Modern conditions of practical veterinary medicine require the use of effective and safe drugs. Along with the already known and common medicines, the search for new drugs which are harmless for the body and have the physiological direction of action is still required. In recent years, the attention to the use of phyto- and tissue-derived drugs increased. However, the problem of their use is insufficiently studied – many aspects of their clinical use require further development, expansion of the spectrum of used medicinal plants, study, and implementation into veterinary practice. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to develop a comprehensive vitamin-hormone drugs based on phyto- and tissue medicines for the treatment and prevention of reproductive abnormalities in animals. Based on the information on the etiopathogenesis of disorders of reproductive function indicators: homeostasis, reducing of the concentration of hormones (estrogen or progesterone), changes in the morphofunctional state of endocrine (pituitary, thyroid, and adrenal gland) and reproductive (ovaries) organs, the application of vitamin-hormone drugs in veterinary medicine is scientifically sound. Drugs in terms of pathogenetic therapy can optimise homeostasis, hormone concentrations, stimulate rehabilitation processes in the regulatory organs of reproductive function (pituitary, adrenal, and thyroid) and reproductive organs (ovaries), which, in turn, contributes to the normalisation of follicles which are a prerequisite for the full reproductive capacity of females. Vitamin-hormonal medicines of herbal and tissue origin were developed, with high efficiency for the treatment and prevention of reproductive pathologies of various species of animals, providing the stimulation of reproductive function (estrus signs) for therapy of females with gonadopathies (“Carafest”, “Caplaestrol” and “Caplagonìn”) and males (display of sexual reflexes and sperm quality) for reproductive activity dysfunction (“Carafand”), increase in the viability of the newborn (increasing the number of lambs and goatlings with satisfactory clinical condition with a high-growth potential, reduce in their morbidity and lethality), preventing the incidence of ìntra- and postnatal (labor hypofunction, diseases of post-labor period) pathology (“Carafest”, and “Caplaestrol”)

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Oxidative stress as a leading factor of male infertility requires correction with modern pharmacological agents, particularly redox-active nanoparticles, to improve sperm quality and hormonal balance. The current experimental study aimed to investigate the effect of orthovanadate nanoparticles of rare earth elements, particularly Gadolinium, with pronounced redox properties on the reproductive function of male rabbits under oxidative stress. A total of 36 mature male Hyla rabbits were divided into three groups of intact control (n = 12) and two experimental groups, including rabbits ubder oxidative stress (n = 12), induced by the introduction of tert-Butyl hydroperoxide, and those under oxidative stress plus hydrosol of gadolinium orthovanadate nanoparticles (NPs, n = 12) intake for 14 days. There were four rabbits per three replicates in each group. Animals of all groups were kept on the same diet and had free access to water. The use of NPs led to an improvement in sperm quality indicators. There was an improvement in motility and ejaculate volume indicators (by 14.6% and 39.2%, respectively), a reduction of the content of morphologically abnormal sperm by 26.7%; normalization of sex hormones, an increase in the level of total testosterone (by 113%) with a decrease in 17-β-estradiol (by 16.5%). This sex hormones improvement led to an increase in the androgen saturation of the rabbit’s body (free androgen index at the end of the experiment was 36.5%). The obtained changes were accompanied by a decrease in the oxidative load, as evidenced by a reduced content of diene conjugates and thio-barbituric acid-reactive compounds in the blood serum of rabbits by 30.4% and 26.8%, compared to the control. At the same time, there was an increase in the antioxidant potential, especially its glutathione link – the activity of glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase (by 42.5% and 34.2%, respectively), and the content of reduced glutathione increased by 62.3%, compared to the indicators before the introduction of NPs. The results of the study confirmed the effectiveness of using gadolinium orthovanadate NPs to correct the reproductive function of males under oxidative stress.

Seasonality affects milk production, its composition, as well as the spread of mastitis in dairy cows. The aim of the research work was to study the way the seasons affect milk productivity and the manifestation of mastitis among Ukrainian brown Swiss cows at a commercial dairy unit, with the animals kept in naturally ventilated premises. The relationship between the indicators was assessed by Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficient. The influence of a seasonal factor and individual air parameters on cows’ milk productivity was evaluated using Factorial ANOVA in Statistica 12 software. The results of the study revealed a high correlation between the content of milk fat and milk protein and the weather conditions (temperature, relative humidity, as well as temperature-humidity index) by seasons. Moreover, the greatest negative relationship between these characteristics was observed in spring (r = 0.4‒0.8) and in autumn (r = 0.6), and not in summer during the heat, as we had predicted earlier. The influence rate of the «season» factor was significant both in terms of the daily milk yield and milk components (51–59%) and mastitis prevalence rate in cows (56%) at the dairy unit. In general, the reduction of milk yields in summer and especially in autumn, and the spread of udder pathology in cows during this period should provide for the introduction of managerial and preventive veterinary measures to mitigate the effects of hot summer among Ukrainian Brown Swiss cows at year-round housing of animals in naturally ventilated premises.

A complex preparations «Kahadin + OV», «Kaplaestrol + OV», «Karafest + OV» and «Karafand + OV», which have antioxidant, anti-hypoxic and membranoprotective properties thanks to nanobiomaterials.Were tested drug «Karafest + OV Zn», at doses of justification which came out of the daily needs of animals in the components of the drug, which for sheep and goats in the last 7-8 weeks of pregnancy (per animal), carotene – 0.28–0.5 mg/kg, or 12–26 mg, phytoestrogens – 0,0175 mg/kg or 0.61-1.22 mg, zinc – 1-1.08 mg/kg, or 54-70 mg.The content of substances in 1 ml «Karafest + OV Zn» according to the technical specifications are: carotene - 10 mg (1,2-2,6 ml), phytoestrogens - 1 mg (0.6-1.2 ml), zinc carbonate – 2 mg, ortovanadatе europium activated gadolinium – 0.00015 mg.The final dosage was determined by the scheme – 0.35–2.1 ml/animal оr 0.01–0.03 ml/kg body weight/day.The drug «Karafest + OV Zn» asked orally with food daily for a month to projected pregnancy (140 days of pregnancy).The positive effect of the drug «Karafest + OV Zn» at the homeostasis parameters in sheep, including normalization of serum vitamin A, zinc and total protein; prooxidative-antioxidant system containing serum – malondialdehyde, catalase, superoxide dismutase and erythrocyte – malondialdehyde, catalase, restored glutathione and oxidative-antioxidant value;  system state  oxygen  metabolism  –  the number of red blood cells and hemoglobin concentration of 2.3-dyphosphoglyceratis.Thus, the use of the drug «Karafest + OV Zn» increased content in blood serum, vitamin A (by 16.2%), zinc (by 23,4%), total protein (by 11.5%), malondialdehyde (by 17.5%), catalase (by 24.7%), superoxide dismutase (by 17.9%); in erythrocytes: (by 24.4%), catalase (by 23.9 %) and reduced glutathione (by 18.2%) and hemoglobin (by 23.5 %), the actual number of red blood cells (by 21.8%), the concentration of 2,3-dyphosphoglyceratis (by 22.2%) and normalized prooxidant-antioxidant ratio.