Association between body condition score, testicular haemodynamics and echogenicity, nitric oxide levels, and total antioxidant capacity in rams

Abstract

Higher body fatness adversely affects metabolic and hormonal homeostasis. The present work aimed to evaluate the association between body condition score (BCS) and haemodynamic pattern and echogenic appearence of the testes as well as nitric oxide (NO) levels and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). For that, fifteen Ossimi rams were blocked according to their BCS into a lower BCS group (L-BCS:2–2.5; n = 5), medium BCS group (M-BCS:3–3.5; n = 5), and higher BCS group (H-BCS:4–4.5; n = 5). Rams were examined for testicular haemodynamics (TH; Doppler ultrasonography), testicular echotexture (TE; B-mode image software analysis), and serum levels of NO and TAC (colorimetric). Results are presented as means ± standard error of the mean. There was a significant (P < 0.05) difference in the resistive index and pulsatility index means among the groups under experimentation, being the least in the L-BCS group (0.43 ± 0.02 and 0.57 ± 0.04, respectively) compared to the M-BCS (0.53 ± 0.03 and 0.77 ± 0.03, respectively) and H-BCS rams (0.57 ± 0.01 and 0.86 ± 0.03, respectively). Among blood flow velocity measurements [peak systolic, end-diastolic (EDV), and time-average maximum], only EDV showed significant (P < 0.05) higher values in the L-BCS group (17.06 ± 1.03 cm/s) compared to M-BCS (12.58 ± 0.67 cm/s) and H-BCS (12.51 ± 0.61 cm/s) groups. Regarding the TE results, there were no significant differences among the examined groups. There were significant differences (P < 0.01) in the concentrations of TAC and NO among the groups under experimentation, in which the L-BCS rams had the highest levels of TAC and NO in their sera (0.90 ± 0.05 mM/L and 62.06 ± 2.72 μM/L, respectively) than the M-BCS (0.058 ± 0.05 mM/L and 47.89 ± 1.49 μM/L, respectively) and H-BCS rams (0.45 ± 0.03 mM/L and 49.93 ± 3.63 μM/L, respectively). In conclusion, body condition score is associated with both testicular hemodynamic and the antioxidant capacity in rams.

Administration of Estradiol Benzoate Enhances Ovarian and Uterine Hemodynamics in Postpartum Dairy Buffaloes

“…In the present study, E2 concentrations were negatively associated with the values of both the RI and PI of the OA and MUA. Similarly, strong correlations between Doppler indices of testicular hemodynamics and E2 concentrations were reported in goats [47,48], rams [32,33], buffalo bulls [3], and stallions [45]. Results of the present study indicated an associative relationship between E2 and Doppler indices, an observation deemed important, but there was no elucidation of the underlying mechanism for E2 action.…”

“…An E2 (E2-17β) assay was performed using a competitive type of ELISA (DRG kits, Marburg, Germany), with a sensitivity of 9.8 pg/mL [31]. Nitric oxide (NO) was determined colorimetrically using a nitric oxide kit (Bio-diagnostics, Giza, Egypt) with a sensitivity of 0.24 µmol/L [32,33].…”

Maternal supplementation of curcumin‐olive oil nanocomposite improves uteroplacental blood flow, placental growth and antioxidant capacity in goats

“…Ultrasonography is considered as a substantial tool for evaluating animal reproductive organs (El-Sherbiny et al, 2023;Samir et al, 2023).…”

“…Ultrasonography is considered as a substantial tool for evaluating animal reproductive organs (El‐Sherbiny et al, 2023; Samir et al, 2023). Improving uteroplacental hemodynamics is crucial for a stable and growing pregnancy, especially in dams bearing more than one foetus.…”