Effect of L-carnitine supplementation on drake semen quality

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the effect on semen quality traits of supplementing the diets of Iraqi drakes with L-carnitine. Forty eight male Iraqi ducks, 30 weeks old, were randomly allocated to four treatments with 12 drakes per treatment group, replicated three times, with four drakes per replicate. The treatment groups consisted of birds fed a diet free of L-carnitine (T 1 , control group); birds fed a diet containing 50 mg L-carnitine/kg diet (T 2 ); birds fed a diet containing 100 mg L-carnitine/kg diet (T 3 ); and birds fed a diet containing 150 mg L-carnitine/kg diet. The drakes were fed the experimental diets only during the experimental period, which lasted three months. The semen quality traits that were investigated were ejaculate volume, mass and individual motility of spermatozoa, spermatocrit, spermatozoa concentration, percentages of dead and abnormal spermatozoa and acrosomal abnormalities. Supplementing the diet of drakes with L-carnitine at the levels of 50 -150 mg/kg diet significantly increased ejaculate volume, spermatocrit, mass and individual motility of spermatozoa, and concentration of spermatozoa, while percentages of dead and abnormal spermatozoa and acrosomal abnormalities were decreased. However, T 4 (150 mg L-carnitine/kg diet) recorded the best results in relation to all semen quality traits included in this study. Dietary supplementation with L-carnitine improved the semen quality of local drakes; therefore L-carnitine can be used as an efficient feed additive to improve the reproductive performance of male ducks.

Ameliorative effect of L‐carnitine on chronic lead‐induced reproductive toxicity in male rats

“…The positive impact of L‐carnitine on sperm parameters have been studied in previous studies. It was directly related to improvements in sperm parameters as sperm counts, viability and morphology (Ahmed et al., 2011; Al‐Daraji & Tahir, 2014; Khademi et al., 2004). The improvements in sperm parameters can be attributed to the antioxidant properties of L‐carnitine as it prevents the production of free radicals in the semen as reported by Agarwal and Said (2004).…”

Antioxidants in Fish Sperm and the Potential Role of Melatonin

“…Moreover, an appropriate dietary level can promote growth performance and antioxidant status in fish [ 108 ]. In fact, there are studies in spermatozoa from human [ 46 ], stallion [ 109 ], buffalo [ 105 ], boar [ 110 ], duck [ 111 ], rooster [ 107 , 112 ], Japanese quail [ 113 ], rabbit [ 106 ] and rat [ 114 ], revealing the positive effects of L-carnitine, not only on sperm quality parameters, such as motility, viability, and cell concentration, but in some cases, it decreased sperm ROS production. Given the literature available, there are just a few studies in fish in which carnitine was used as a dietary supplement, testing its effect on sperm quality.…”

Reproductive season and male effect on quantitative and qualitative traits of individually collected Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) semen

“…Such seasonal changes in the content of various morphological forms are also confirmed by studies of other authors. Kontecka (1991) analysing the semen of K‐01 duck line for 23 weeks described an increase in the number of live sperm and a decrease in the deformed cells as the season progressed, similarly Al‐Daraji and Tahir (2014) in experiment on Iraqi ducks. Penfold et al.…”

“…described an increase in the number of live sperm and a decrease in the deformed cells as the season progressed, similarly Al-Daraji and Tahir (2014) in experiment on Iraqi ducks Penfold et al (2000). reported a significantly lower sperm number in the last ejaculate compared to the middle season Okpe and Udoumoh (2016).…”

“…Changes in ejaculate volume and sperm content occurring during the reproductive season were also confirmed in the studies conducted by other authors. Al‐Daraji and Tahir (2014) described an increase in semen volume over three months and a differentiated sperm number within the season. They observed the highest sperm content in the second month of reproduction.…”