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No effect of the plant growth regulator, chlormequat, on boar fertility

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2009

M. T. Sørensen ,
M. E. Poulsen ,
H. Leffers ,
G. Vajta  and
U. Halekoh
M. T. Sørensen*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aarhus University, Research Centre Foulum, PO Box 50, 8830 Tjele, Denmark
M. E. Poulsen
Affiliation:
National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Mørkhøj Bygade 19, 2860 Søborg, Denmark
H. Leffers
Affiliation:
Copenhagen University Hospital, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
G. Vajta
Affiliation:
Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aarhus University, Research Centre Foulum, PO Box 50, 8830 Tjele, Denmark
U. Halekoh
Affiliation:
Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aarhus University, Research Centre Foulum, PO Box 50, 8830 Tjele, Denmark
*
E-mail: MartinT.Sorensen@agrsci.dk
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Abstract

Chlormequat is a commonly used plant growth regulator in agriculture. Defined levels of chlormequat residue are allowed in food and an acceptable daily intake is defined for humans. However, there are results in the literature suggesting that a daily intake below the acceptable level for human is detrimental for mammalian reproduction. In the present experiment we investigated the effect of chlormequat at levels up to that acceptable for humans on reproduction in male pigs. Chlormequat (also known as chlorocholine chloride (CCC)) was mixed into the diet and given to the experimental animals at three levels (three treatment groups), i.e. 0 mg CCC/kg BW per day (Control), 0.025 mg CCC/kg BW per day and 0.05 mg CCC/kg BW per day. Eight mother sows per treatment group were used in the experiment. From the day of insemination, the mother sows received the experimental diets. The piglets were weaned at 4 weeks of age and two boar littermates continued on the same treatment as the dam until maturity and delivery of semen for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and in vivo fertilization. Semen volume, sperm concentration and fraction of live sperms were not (P ⩾ 0.46) detrimentally affected by chlormequat intake. The fraction of oocytes developing to more than the one-cell stage at day 5 after IVF was not (P = 0.88) detrimentally affected by chlormequat intake. Chlormequat intake did not detrimentally affect the fraction of gilts being pregnant after one insemination (P = 0.65) or the number of embryos in the pregnant gilts (P = 0.36). Serum chlormequat concentration was 0.9 μg/kg in the 0.025 mg CCC/kg BW per day group and 1.8 μg/kg in the 0.05 mg CCC/kg BW per day group, but was below the detection limit in control animals. In conclusion, the plant growth regulator chlormequat could not be proven to be detrimental to the selected reproduction traits in male pigs. This is in contrast to existing results from the male mouse.

Keywords

plant growth regulatorchlormequatreproductionfertilitypig
Type
Full Paper
Information
animal , Volume 3 , Issue 5 , May 2009 , pp. 697 - 702
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2009

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