Effect of dietary Pufa in rams on fatty acid compostion of Epidymal semen

Abstract

Mammalian spermatozoa are characterized by a high proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) which play a critical role in fertilization. However, the fatty acid profile during sperm maturation remains unclear in rams. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of feeding dietary protected fish oil (FO) and Green lipped mussel of (GLM) on lipid composition of epidymal semen. Twelve Suffolk rams with a mean age 7.0 months ± 15 days with an average live weight of 77 (3.5) kg were divided randomly into four groups of 3 rams per group and housed individually. The rams were randomly allocated to each of foure fatty acid (FA) sources; Megalac (M), Megalac with Green lipped mussel (MGLM), Fish oil (FO) and Fish oil + Green lipped mussel (FOGLM). The concentration of C20:5 n-3 in the semen of rams offered diets containing fish oil with GLM were significantly greater (p=0.03) than those observed in rams receiving the Megalac diets. The most pronounced effect of feeding the fish oil diets was an increase in fatty acid concentration of C20:5 n-3 compared with Megalac diet.