Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
UNMSM, Universidad Nacional Mayor San Marcos, San Borja, Lima, Peru.
Zygote. 2021 Aug;29(4):325-330. doi: 10.1017/S0967199420000751. Epub 2021 Feb 10.
The reproductive performances of livestock play an essential role in the economic management of the farm. The improvement of semen quantity and quality through the use of food supplements that lack substances which are forbidden in animal feeding, or that may have detrimental effects, is an important goal. Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is a plant that has been used for centuries in the Andes for nutrition and fertility enhancement in humans and animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of food supplementation of stallions with maca during the breeding season on spermatozoa parameters such as DNA fragmentation and shape, which are two predictive indexes of spermatozoa functionality. For this purpose, ejaculate volume, semen gel-free volume, sperm concentration and motility, total sperm count, sperm DNA fragmentation and sperm head parameters (length, width, perimeter, area, shape factor, roughness) were measured in four stallions. Maca food supplementation in stallions during breeding reduced the percentage of spermatozoa with fragmented DNA, increased significantly sperm concentration and exerted an elongation of the spermatozoa head, a condition that is believed to improve spermatozoa functionality, suggesting that food supplementation of maca could be useful in horse breeding during the breeding season.
家畜的繁殖性能在农场的经济管理中起着至关重要的作用。通过使用缺乏禁止在动物饲养中使用的物质或可能产生不利影响的食物补充剂来提高精液的数量和质量，是一个重要目标。玛咖（Lepidium meyenii）是一种植物，在安第斯山脉已经被人类和动物使用了几个世纪，用于营养和生育能力的增强。本研究的目的是评估在繁殖季节给种马补充玛咖对精子参数的影响，如 DNA 碎片化和形状，这是两个预测精子功能的指标。为此，在四头种马中测量了精液量、精液无凝胶量、精子浓度和活力、总精子数、精子 DNA 碎片化和精子头部参数（长度、宽度、周长、面积、形状因子、粗糙度）。在繁殖季节给种马补充玛咖食物可降低精子 DNA 碎片化的百分比，显著增加精子浓度，并使精子头部伸长，这种情况被认为可改善精子功能，表明在繁殖季节给马补充玛咖可能对马的繁殖有用。
