Effect of cinnamon ( Cinnamomum zeylanicum ) bark oil on heat stress-induced changes in sperm production, testicular lipid peroxidation, testicular apoptosis, and androgenic receptor density in developing Japanese quails

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cinnamon bark oil (CBO) on heat stress (HS)-induced changes in sperm production, testicular lipid peroxidation, testicular apoptosis, and androgenic receptor (AR) density in developing Japanese quails. Fifteen-day-old 90 male chicks were assigned to two main groups. The first group (45 chicks) was kept in a thermoneutral room at 22 °C for 24 h/day. The second group (45 chicks) was kept in a room with high ambient temperature at 34 °C for 8 h/day (from 9 AM-5 PM) and at 22 °C for 16 h/day. Each of these two main groups was then divided into three subgroups (CBO groups 0, 250, 500 ppm) consisting of 15 chicks (six treatment groups in 2 × 3 factorial order). Each of subgroups was replicated for three times and each replicate included five chicks. Heat stress caused significant decreases in body weight, spermatid and testicular sperm numbers, the density of testicular Bcl-2 (antiapoptotic marker) and AR immunopositivity, and significant increases in testicular lipid peroxidation level, the density of testicular Bax (apoptotic marker) immunopositivity, and a Bax/Bcl-2 ratio along with some histopathologic damages. However, 250 and 500 ppm CBO supplementation provided significant improvements in HS-induced increased level of testicular lipid peroxidation, decreased number of spermatid and testicular sperm, decreased densities of Bcl-2 and AR immunopositivity, and some deteriorated testicular histopathologic lesions. In addition, although HS did not significantly affect the testicular glutathione level, addition of both 250 and 500 ppm CBO to diet of quails reared in both HS and thermoneutral conditions caused a significant increase when compared with quails without any consumption of CBO. In conclusion, HS-induced lipid peroxidation causes testicular damage in developing male Japanese quails and, consumption of CBO, which has antiperoxidative effect, protects their testes against HS.

Dietary rosemary oil alleviates heat stress-induced structural and functional damage through lipid peroxidation in the testes of growing Japanese quail

“…When the oxidant-antioxidant system is not optimal in its equilibrium as a result of increased production of oxidants, there are impairments in testicular histologic structure, spermatogenesis and spermatozoa functions due to the increased lipid peroxidation and there is an ensuing reduction in fertility (Surai et al, 2001). In the present study, HS increased testicular MDA concentrations, a by-product of lipid peroxidation, in comparison to what occurred with the TN conditions, which is in agreement with findings from a previous study (Türk et al, 2015). The HS had no effect on testicular tissue antioxidant markers including rGSH, GSH-Px, and CAT in the present study.…”

“…The HS had no effect on testicular tissue antioxidant markers including rGSH, GSH-Px, and CAT in the present study. This result is consistent with the findings of Türk et al (2015) but not those of Altan et al (2003) where there were increases in blood SOD, GSH-Px and CAT activities of broiler chickens housed in HS conditions. The reason for this inconsistency in findings may be the use of different species of animals and different sample assessments between the present and previous studies.…”

“…All analyses were performed with the aid of a spectrophotometer (2R/Ultraviolet-Visible; Shimadzu, Tokyo, Japan) by using the methods reported in the study of Türk et al (2015). Amount of lipid peroxidation was measured according to the concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and the amount of malondialdehyde (MDA) produced was used as an index of lipid peroxidation.…”

“…Temperatures outside of the animal's thermo-neutral (TN) zone are often not optimal for testicular function and can potentially disrupt spermatogenesis (Durairajanayagam et al, 2014). Reductions have been reported for testis weight (McDaniel et al, 2004), semen volume, numbers of normal-shaped spermatozoa (Joshi et al, 1980), spermatozoa count, spermatozoa motility, and there is an increase in number of dead spermatozoa (McDaniel et al, 2004;Ebeid, 2012) as well as testicular degenerative disorders (Terim Kapakın et al, 2013;Türk et al, 2015) in different poultry species in response to HS.…”

“…Supplementation of natural antioxidants to diets of male poultry is effective in reducing or completely eliminating HS-induced reproductive failures (Lara and Rostagno, 2013). Various antioxidants such as cinnamon bark oil (Türk et al, 2015), betaine, vitamin C, folic acid (Ezzat et al, 2011), selenium, and vitamin E (Ebeid, 2012) have been added to the diets to prevent HS-related reproductive disturbances in avian species. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a common household plant, which belongs to the family of Lamiaceae that is grown in many parts of the world.…”