Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T10:28:23.521Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Dietary l-arginine supplementation improves semen quality and libido of boars under high ambient temperature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 December 2017

J. Q. Chen ,
Y. S. Li ,
Z. J. Li ,
H. X. Lu ,
P. Q. Zhu  and
C. M. Li
J. Q. Chen
Affiliation:
Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Nutrition and Animal Health, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, P.R. China
Y. S. Li
Affiliation:
Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Nutrition and Animal Health, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, P.R. China
Z. J. Li
Affiliation:
Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Nutrition and Animal Health, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, P.R. China
H. X. Lu
Affiliation:
Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Nutrition and Animal Health, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, P.R. China
P. Q. Zhu
Affiliation:
Jiangsu Lihua Animal Husbandry Stock Co., Ltd, Changzhou 213100, P.R. China
C. M. Li*
Affiliation:
Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Nutrition and Animal Health, College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, P.R. China
*
†E-mail: chunmeili@njau.edu.cn
Get access

Abstract

l-Arginine is a nutritionally essential amino acid for spermatogenesis and plays versatile roles in animal health and can be utilized as a potential agent to improve reproductive performance of boars under high ambient temperature. The present study aimed to determine whether dietary l-arginine could alleviate heat stress-induced infertility in boars. In all, 20 boars (PIC 1040; 248.59±3.84 kg BW and 407.65±6.40 days of age) were selected and randomly assigned to four groups (group 0.0%, basal diet; group 0.6%, 0.8% or 1.0%, basal diet added with 0.6%, 0.8% or 1.0% l-arginine (wt:wt), respectively.) The four diets were made isonitrogenous by addition of appropriate amounts of l-alanine. Boars were pre-fed the corresponding experimental diet for 42 days. Then, the semen characteristics and libido were accessed for 6 weeks during the hot summer period (25.5° to 33.0°C). Results show that dietary l-arginine remarkably improved sperm motility, normality, total sperm number and effective total sperm number. Also, dietary l-arginine improved semen antioxidant capacity, such as decrease of malondialdehyde and 8-Hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine content in sperm (P<0.05), increase of the ratio of glutathione and oxidized glutathione, total antioxidant capacity, glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities in seminal plasma (P<0.05). Most of mitochondria contained intact ultrastructure in l-arginine-supplemented group which also accompany with higher ATP content than the 0.0% group. The boars fed 0.8% l-arginine show increased levels of estradiol-17β and testosterone and exhibit improved libido performance than boars in the 0.0% group. Adding dietary l-arginine linearly increased (P=0.002) nitric oxide content (as l-arginine increased). The scrotal surface temperature in the 0.6%, 0.8% and 1.0% group were decreased by 0.9°C, 0.9°C and 0.4°C, respectively, compared with the 0.0% group. l-Arginine levels caused linear effect on semen quality and antioxidant capacity, also caused quadratic effect on libido performance. During the hot summer months, the predicted optimal l-arginine levels for best semen quality and antioxidant capacity was 0.8% to 1.0% and for best libido performance was 0.8%. It can be concluded that l-arginine can be used as an effective agent to alleviate heat stress-induced infertility of boar, and that 0.8% to 1.0% can be considered as the optimum dosage.

Keywords

boarheatlibidol-argininesemen quality
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 12 , Issue 8 , August 2018 , pp. 1611 - 1620
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agarwal, A, Roychoudhury, S, Bjugstad, KB and Cho, C-L 2016. Oxidation-reduction potential of semen: what is its role in the treatment of male infertility? Therapeutic Advances in Urology 8, 302–318.Google Scholar
Aggarwal, A and Upadhyay, R 2012. Heat stress and animal productivity. Springer Science & Business Media, New York, USA.Google Scholar
Chiueh, CC 1999. Neuroprotective properties of nitric oxide. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 890, 301–311.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Council, NR 1981. Effect of environment on nutrient requirements of domestic animals. National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA.Google Scholar
Esfandiari, N, Saleh, RA, Blaut, AP, Sharma, RK, Nelson, DR, Thomas, AJ, Falcone, T and Agarwal, A 2002. Effects of temperature on sperm motion characteristics and reactive oxygen species. International Journal of Fertility and Womens Medicine 47, 227–235.Google ScholarPubMed
Gratzke, C, Angulo, J, Chitaley, K, Dai, Yt, Kim, NN, Paick, JS, Simonsen, U, Ückert, S, Wespes, E and Andersson, KE 2010. Anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology of erectile dysfunction. The Journal of Sexual Medicine 7, 445–475.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Guo, H, Gong, Y, He, B and Zhao, R 2017. Relationships between mitochondrial DNA content, mitochondrial activity, and boar sperm motility. Theriogenology 87, 276–283.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holt, LE and Albanesi, AA 1944. Observation of amino acids deficiencies in man. Transactions of the Association of American Physicians 58, 143–156.Google Scholar
Kawano, H, Motoyama, T, Hirai, N, Kugiyama, K, Yasue, H and Ogawa, H 2002. Endothelial dysfunction in hypercholesterolemia is improved by L-arginine administration: possible role of oxidative stress. Atherosclerosis 161, 375–380.Google Scholar
Keller, DW and Polakoski, KL 1975. L-arginine stimulation of human sperm motility in vitro . Biology of Reproduction 13, 154–157.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kiefer, C, Donzele, JL, Oliveira, RFMD, Suguisawa, L, Suguisawa, JM and Marques, ACW 2012. Nutritional plans for boars. Revista Brasileira De Zootecnia 41, 1448–1453.Google Scholar
Knox, RV 2003. The Anatomy & Physiology of Sperm Production in Boars. Retrieved on 17 November 2017 from http://www.ansci.wisc.edu/jjp1/pig_case/html/library/boara&p.pdf.Google Scholar
Kozink, DM, Estienne, MJ, Harper, AF and Knight, JW 2004. Effects of dietary L-carnitine supplementation on semen characteristics in boars. Theriogenology 61, 1247–1258.Google Scholar
Kunavongkrit, A, Suriyasomboon, A, Lundeheim, N, Heard, TW and Einarsson, S 2005. Management and sperm production of boars under differing environmental conditions. Theriogenology 63, 657–667.Google Scholar
Lavranos, G, Balla, M, Tzortzopoulou, A, Syriou, V and Angelopoulou, R 2012. Investigating ROS sources in male infertility: a common end for numerous pathways. Reproductive Toxicology 34, 298–307.Google Scholar
Li, XL, Bazer, FW, Johnson, GA, Burghardt, RC, Erikson, DW, Frank, JW, Spencer, TE, Shinzato, I and Wu, GY 2010. Dietary supplementation with 0.8% L-arginine between days 0 and 25 of gestation reduces litter size in gilts. Journal of Nutrition 140, 1111–1116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, Y, Wang, A, Taya, K and Li, C 2015. Declining semen quality and steadying seminal plasma ions in heat‐stressed boar model. Reproductive Medicine and Biology 14, 171–177.Google Scholar
Louis, GF, Lewis, AJ, Weldon, WC, Ermer, PM, Miller, PS, Kittok, RJ and Stroup, WW 1994a. The effect of energy and protein intakes on boar libido, semen characteristics, and plasma hormone concentrations. Journal of Animal Science 72, 2051–2060.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Louis, GF, Lewis, AJ, Weldon, WC, Miller, PS, Kittok, RJ and Stroup, WW 1994b. The effect of protein intake on boar libido, semen characteristics, and plasma hormone concentrations. Journal of Animal Science 72, 2051–2060.Google Scholar
Palmer, RM, Ashton, D and Moncada, S 1988. Vascular endothelial cells synthesize nitric oxide from L-arginine. Nature 333, 664–666.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Petrovic, V, Buzadzic, B, Korac, A, Vasilijevic, A, Jankovic, A, Micunovic, K and Korac, B 2008. Antioxidative defence alterations in skeletal muscle during prolonged acclimation to cold: role of L-arginine/NO-producing pathway. Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 114–120.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Piomboni, P, Focarelli, R, Stendardi, A, Ferramosca, A and Zara, V 2012. The role of mitochondria in energy production for human sperm motility. International Journal of Andrology 35, 109.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prathalingam, NS, Holt, WW, Revell, SG, Jones, S and Watson, PF 2006. The precision and accuracy of six different methods to determine sperm concentration. Journal of Andrology 27, 257–262.Google Scholar
Radany, E and Atherton, R 1981. Arginine induced stimulation of rabbit sperm motility. Archives of Andrology 7, 351–355.Google Scholar
Ren, B, Cheng, X, Wu, D, Xu, SY, Che, LQ, Fang, ZF, Lv, G, Dong, HJ and Lin, Y 2015. Effect of different amino acid patterns on semen quality of boars fed with low-protein diets. Animal Reproduction Science 161, 96–103.Google Scholar
Ren, D, Xing, Y, Lin, M, Wu, Y, Li, K, Li, W, Yang, S, Guo, T, Ren, J and Ma, J 2009. Evaluations of boar gonad development, spermatogenesis with regard to semen characteristics, libido and serum testosterone levels based on large White Duroc×Chinese Erhualian crossbred boars. Reproduction in Domestic Animals=Zuchthygiene 44, 913.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Setchell, BP 2006. The effects of heat on the testes of mammals. Animal Reproduction 2, 81–91.Google Scholar
Shiraishi, K, Takihara, H and Matsuyama, H 2010. Elevated scrotal temperature, but not varicocele grade, reflects testicular oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis. World Journal of Urology 28, 359–364.Google Scholar
Swierstra, EE 1968. Cytology and duration of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium of the boar; duration of spermatozoan transit through the epididymis. Anatomical Record 161, 171–185.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tanimura, J 1967. Studies on arginine in human semen. II. The effects of medication with L-arginine-HCL on male infertility. Bulletin of the Osaka Medical School 13, 84–89.Google Scholar
Wang, C, Li, J, Wei, H, Zhou, Y, Tan, J, Sun, H, Jiang, S and Peng, J 2016. Effects of feeding regimen on weight gain, semen characteristics, libido, and lameness in 170-to 250-kilogram Duroc boars. Journal of Animal Science 94, 4666–4676.Google Scholar
Wang, J, Chen, L, Li, P, Li, X, Zhou, H, Wang, F, Li, D, Yin, Y and Wu, G 2008. Gene expression is altered in piglet small intestine by weaning and dietary glutamine supplementation. Journal of Nutrition 138, 1025–1032.Google Scholar
Wettemann, R, Wells, M, Omtvedt, I, Pope, C and Turman, E 1976. Influence of elevated ambient temperature on reproductive performance of boars. Journal of Animal Science 42, 664–669.Google Scholar
Wu, G 2010. Functional amino acids in growth, reproduction, and health. Advances in Nutrition: An International Review Journal 1, 31–37.Google Scholar
Wu, G, Bazer, FW, Cudd, TA, Jobgen, WS, Kim, SW, Lassala, A, Li, P, Matis, JH, Meininger, CJ and Spencer, TE 2007. Pharmacokinetics and safety of arginine supplementation in animals. The Journal of Nutrition 137, 1673S–1680S.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Chen et al supplementary material 1

Supplementary Figure

Download Chen et al supplementary material 1(File)
File 43.1 KB
Supplementary material: File

Chen et al supplementary material 2

Supplementary Table

Download Chen et al supplementary material 2(File)
File 20.3 KB
Supplementary material: File

Chen et al supplementary material 3

Supplementary Table

Download Chen et al supplementary material 3(File)
File 17.4 KB