Effects of Dried Tomato Pulp Used as a Feed Ingredient in Breeder Roosters' Diets on Blood and Semen Antioxidant Status and on Some Sperm Parameters

Abstract

Because the avian spermatozoa are very susceptible to lipid peroxidation, the aim of the study was to determine the effects of dried tomato pulp containing lycopene, a stronger antioxidant, used as feed ingredient on blood and semen plasma antioxidant status and on some sperm parameters in breeder roosters. Thirty, 35 weeks old, healthy breeder roosters were used in the study. After 2 weeks long adaptation period, they were randomly allotted into 3 equal experimental groups according to the proportions of dried tomato pulp (0, 2.5 and 5%) included in the basal diet and the antioxidant status based on the determination of glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities in blood and semen samples was evaluated at the beginning and at the end of the 6 weeks long experimental period. In parallel, some sperm traits (volume, spermatozoa motility, concentration and anomaly rates) were also examined. The blood plasma GSH-Px activity after 6 weeks was dramatically increased in roosters receiving dried tomato pulp compared to the controls and blood GSH concentrations remained stable contrary to the control birds. In addition, the semen MDA concentrations were significantly depressed in roosters consuming 2.5 or 5.0% dried tomato pulp and the GSH concentrations and the GSH-Px activity were also increased, particularly in the group treated with 5.0% dried tomato pulp. This treatment has also induced significant increases in the spermatozoa motility and concentrations as well as marked decreases in the gamete anomaly rates. These results show that the addition of dried tomato pulp at 5% has positively strengthened the antioxidant status in blood and in semen and improved in parallel some sperm qualities in breeder roosters.