Effects of ginger (Zingiber officinale) supplementation on testicular histology, semen characteristic, blood plasma parameters and reproductive performance in aged broiler breeder roosters.

Higher long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids contents in roosters' sperm plasma membrane along with age-related decrease in antioxidant defense make the spermatozoa very susceptible to lipid peroxidation. Ginger root contains abundant amounts of gingerol, shogaols, gingerdiol and other active compounds, which known as antioxidant compounds to enhance semen quality. The goal of the study was to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation of ginger root on semen quality, blood chemistry, immune response, testicular histology and reproductive performance of Ross-308 breeder roosters from 47 to 60 weeks of age. The feeding of ginger root resulted in an increase in parameters related to sperm forward motility and seminal total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and following there was a tendency to increase and decrease in seminal superoxide dismutase activity and malondialdehyde concentration, respectively; however, sperm concentration was not affected. There was an increase and tendency to increase in blood total protein and TAC in the supplemented group respectively. The roosters fed ginger supplemented diet had a higher spermiation index; and following there was tendency to increase seminal tubes spermatozoids number (p = 0.056) and repopulation index (p = 0.058). Despite the improved seminal antioxidant status and a tendency to lower embryonic mortality in the ginger-received group, the fertility and hatchability rate of roosters were statistically insignificant. Supplementations of ginger root in ageing rooster's diet had a beneficial effect on sperm motility, seminal antioxidant status and testicular spermiation index.

Dietary carob fruit (Ceratonia siliqua L.) supplementation improves spermatogenesis, semen quality and embryonic death via antioxidant effect in aging broiler breeder roosters.

Rooster semen contains high content of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids; therefore, spermatozoa are very susceptible to lipid peroxidation. Carob fruit (CF) contains abundant amounts of flavonoid known as natural antioxidants and semen enhancers. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of CF on semen characters, blood parameters, immune response, testicular histology, and reproductive performance of aging broiler breeder roosters. Thirty-two 47-week-old Ross-308 breeder roosters were randomly assigned to either control or supplemented (CF, 0 or 1 g/kg diet) dietary treatment for 14 continuous weeks. Semen, blood and testis samples were collected at the end of trial. Furthermore, the rate of fertility and hatchability were evaluated using 440 natural mated hens. The sperm kinematic values and progression ratios, seminal antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase) activity, and total antioxidant capacity of semen and blood were increased, and malondialdehyde concentration in semen and blood were decreased by dietary CF supplementation (P < 0.01). The treatment had no effect on the seminal sperm concentration, blood parameters and immune response to Newcastle disease virus vaccine. The testes weight, seminal tubes spermatozoids number, spermiogenesis index and repopulation index, were improved by dietary supplementation (P < 0.05). Fertility and hatchability rate of roosters in the CF group were insignificant. In conclusion, CF supplementation in aging roosters' diet enhanced the sperm motility, seminal and blood antioxidant capacity, and testicular spermatogenenic indexes.

Improving the Quality Characteristics and Shelf Life of Meat and Growth Performance in Goose Fed Diets Supplemented with Vitamin E.

The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of dietary vitamin E on growth performance, cellular immunity, carcass characteristics, and meat quality in geese. Sixty-four one-day-old male geese were selected from 1200 goose chicks with the same average body weight (92.5 ± 2.5 g) and subjected to two treatments (basal diet or control and basal diet plus 120 mg/kg vitamin E supplement) with 4 replicates (8 geese per replicate) for 8 weeks. After slaughter, goose meat was aerobically packed in polyethylene packages and stored at 4 °C for 9 days. The results showed that vitamin E supplementation improved the growth performance, carcass yield percentage, and immune response of goose (P < 0.05). The addition of vitamin E in the diet significantly increased the protein and fat content of goose meat but decreased the moisture and ash content with respect to those obtained from the control diet. During storage, meat from the vitamin E treatment showed higher phenolic content and lower thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARSs) and total volatile nitrogen (TVB-N) values than those from the control treatment. Vitamin E supplementation increased the saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in goose meat. However, goose meat supplemented with vitamin E displayed a significantly (P < 0.05) higher PUFA/SFA ratio than those of the control group. Based on the results, it was concluded that vitamin E could be used to improve the growth performance of goose, the meat composition in terms of the protein and fat content, the nutritional value in terms of the fatty acid composition, and the shelf life.