Vitamin E and organic selenium enhances the antioxidative status and quality of chicken semen under high ambient temperature

Abstract

1. The effects of supplemental dietary vitamin E and organic selenium (Se), and their combination, on improving semen quality characteristics and antioxidative status were investigated in cockerels exposed to high ambient temperature.

2. A total of 36 Egyptian local cross males, 40 weeks old, were housed individually in cages in an open-sided building (average daily temperature ranged from 33 to 36°C and relative humidity from 60 to 70%). Birds were divided randomly into 4 experimental treatments (n = 9 each): (1) control (basal diet without any supplementation with vitamin E or Se); (2) vitamin E (basal diet +200 mg α-tocopherol acetate/kg diet); (3) Se (basal diet +0·3 mg organic Se/kg diet); and (4) vitamin E + Se (basal diet +200 mg α-tocopherol acetate/kg diet +0·3 mg organic Se/kg diet).

3. Under heat stress conditions, inclusion of vitamin E and/or organic Se in the diets enhanced the semen quality traits, including the spermatozoa count and motility, and reduced the percentage of dead spermatozoa.

4. A combination of 200 mg/kg vitamin E with 0·3 mg/kg organic Se reduced the thiobarbituric acid reactive substance concentration in seminal plasma samples to about 28% of the controls; and also enhanced the seminal plasma glutathione peroxidase activity by two-fold compared with controls.

5. It was concluded that dietary vitamin E in combination with organic Se has a synergistic effect in minimising lipid peroxidation and improving the antioxidative status in seminal plasma of the domestic fowl, which probably translated into enhanced spermatozoa count, motility and reduced percentage of dead spermatozoa under heat stress conditions.

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to acknowledge the helpful suggestions of Prof. Mohamed El-Habbak and Dr Yahya Eid, Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Egypt; and Dr Mahmoud El-Deep, Animal Production Research Institute, Sakha, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt for their help and support.