Endocrine Abstracts

Teddy is a highly proliferative goat breed, as females of this breed are famous for high twinning rates. Feed supplementation of olive oil has been shown to improve semen quality of goat bucks. In this study, the effects of feed supplementation with olive oil on serum testosterone, triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4) and some biochemical metabolites in Teddy goat bucks were investigated. For this purpose, 9 adult male goats, with clinically normal reproductive tract, were randomly divided into three equal groups A, B and C. Animals in Group A were fed control ration (control group), while goats in groups B and C were fed ration supplemented with 15 and 30 ml Olive oil, respectively, daily for 8 weeks. Blood samples were collected weekly from each buck and analyzed for serum testosterone, T3 and T4 concentrations through ELISA. Similarly, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose were determined using commercially available kits.

Results revealed that serum concentrations of testosterone, T3 and T4 were higher (P<0.05) in bucks of groups B and C compared to those of control group. However, differences in concentrations of these hormones between bucks of the former two groups were non-significant. Among biochemical metabolites, serum ALT, total cholesterol and triglycerides differed significantly among three groups, values being highest in control group and lowest in group C (P<0.05). Serum AST activity was also lower in bucks of groups B and C than control, however, difference between groups B and C was non-significant. Similarly, the treatment had no effect on serum glucose concentrations. Based on results of the present and previous studies, it was concluded that feed supplementation of olive oil improves semen quality and libido of Teddy goat bucks. However, its effects on health biomarkers and fertility rates of buck may be investigated before making any recommendation.