Lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzyme activity in fresh rooster semen with normal and low sperm motility

Abstract

Lipid peroxidation is a propagative process which causes impaired motility, reduced acrosomal reaction, DNA damage, and cell apoptosis in spermatozoa of both mammals and avian species, including chickens. The aim of this study was to assess lipid peroxidation and enzyme activity of roosters semen having different sperm motilities. Semen was collected from 25 roosters which divided into two groups of roosters with normal (> 80%) and low sperm motility (< 80%). Semen quality parameters such as motility, concentration and volume, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities, and MDA concentrations between groups were measured. Sperm motility in roosters with normal and low motility was highly significant (P ≤ 0.001). However, volumes and concentrations between the two semen groups were not significantly different (P > 0.05). We observed an increase in MDA concentration in the group with low sperm motility, accompanied with a decrease in sperm motility, and vice versa in the normal motility group (P ≤ 0.05). However, activities of CAT and SOD did not significantly differ between the groups (P > 0.05). We therefore conclude that an increase in the level of lipid peroxidation in semen results in a decreased sperm motility in low-motility chickens and in an increase in normal-motility chickens. Similarities of the antioxidants appeared in our results are probably caused by different mechanisms employed by the ROS over the action of the antioxidant enzymes to protect sperm during lipid peroxidation.