Effect of Fish Oil On-Top Feed Supplemented on Boar Spermatozoa Lipid Composition and Semen Quality: A Preliminary Study

Introduction Lipids are the main source of energy in metabolism of spermatozoa. The fatty acids are both structural elements and bioactive compounds (1). In most mammals, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is the dominant polyunsaturated fatty acid, although, in several species docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) is also a major component of the sperm cell membrane (2). The high quantity of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) in the membrane phospholipids of spermatozoa are known to play an importance role in membrane fluidity and flexibility. The importance of polyunsaturated fatty acids in relation to male fertility has been illustrated by studies in humans demonstrating that the amount of docosahexaenoic acid in spermatozoa is positively correlated with sperm motility (3). In addition, it is believed that LCPUFAs contribute actively in the regulation of cellular movement, lipid metabolism and fusion capacity. LCPUFAs which are concentrated in the head and tail membrane regions of spermatozoa have been shown to play an important role in both sperm capacitation (4) and the interaction between spermatozoa and uterine surface environment (5). There were the previous studies showed that feed supplementation affected the fatty acid composition of boar spermatozoa by increasing the n-3 LCPUFAs at the expense of n-6 LCPUFAs in the sperm plasma membranes (6,7). The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of fish oil supplemented in the boar feed on the lipids (fatty acid) composition of ejaculated spermatozoa, semen quality and on storability at 18°C.