Incorporation of dietary omega-3 fatty acids from flaxseed oil into bull’s sperm — ASN Events

Incorporation of dietary omega-3 fatty acids from flaxseed oil into bull’s sperm (#502)

Uzi Moallem 1 , Yoel Zeron 2 , David Biran 2 , Maya Zachut 1 , Zvi Roth 3
  1. Agriculture Research Organization, Bet Dagan, Israel
  2. SION, Shikmim, Israel
  3. Faculty of Agriculture, Hebrew University, Rehovot, Israel

In our previous study we have examined the incorporation of various dietary omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids (FA) into bull sperm and the effects on physiological parameters of fresh and frozen-thawed sperm. We have found a moderate exchange of C22:6n-3 (DHA) and C22:5n-6 FA (DPAn-6) in the sperm of bulls fed flaxseed than fish oil, which improved the survival, motility, progressive motility and velocity of frozen-thawed sperm. In the present study we have compared the effects of a different dietary supplementation of C18:3n-3 (ALA) on the incorporation into sperm, and conception rates of cows inseminated with semen from both groups. Ten fertile bulls from the “SION inseminating bulls” list were divided into 2 groups according to age and physiological parameters of semen collected during the month prior to the study. The bulls were fed either a control diet or provided with a supplement contained 30% fat from flaxseed oil. The treatment bulls (FLX) were supplemented daily with 215 g/d of ALA. Semen was collected every 2 wks for FA analysis. Data were analyzed using the PROC MIXED procedure of SAS. The concentration of ALA was negligible in both groups. The proportion of C22:5n-6 (DPA-n6) was lower, while the proportion of C22:6n-3 (DHA) was higher in sperm of the FLX than control bulls (8.6 and 18.8%, and 26.5 and 17.7%, respectively; P<0.001). Moreover, the proportion of total polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) or other FAs families did not change in sperm of FLX bulls, but an exchange between DPAn-6 and DHA was evident. The results indicate on desaturation and elongation capacity of the testes tissues, in which dietary ALA was converted to the longer PUFA – DHA. Cows are being inseminated with semen from both groups, and conception rates of the cows will be analyzed.