Nature of dietary fat influences on osmotolerance and fertilsing ability of fowl spermatozoa

The study probes the scope of functional modulation of fowl spermatozoa through dietary supplementation of different fat sources. Thirty-six healthy White Leghorn cockerels and an equal number of hens were randomly allotted into 3 groups at 17 weeks of age, group 1 were fed basal layer diet, 9% sunflower oil was supplemented in group 2 whereas group 3 birds received diet supplemented with 9% beef tallow, keeping the diets iso-calorically and isonitrogenously similar. The feeding trial was continued for a 4-week period. Semen was collected from individual cocks and was subjected to osmotic stress in saline solutions of osmolalities ranging from 100 to 1800mOsm. Sperm motility and survivability prevailed similar across a wide osmotic range of 200–600mOsm irrespective of dietary treatments. However, at extreme hypertonic conditions (1200–1800mOsm) sperm viability was adversely affected in all the groups. Sperm motility is more sensitive to osmotic stress than the integrity of sperm membranes. Results of fertility studies revealed significant improvement in fertility status of sunflower supplemented group as compared to others. It is suggested that fertility of cocks is amenable to improvement through spermatozoal modification induced by alteration of dietary intake of unsaturated fatty acids.