Akar Melih, Çevik Mesut, Kocaman Adem, Kaya Cumali, Esin Burcu, Björkman Stefan
Department of Production Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
Department of Animal Reproduction and Artificial Insemination, University of Ondokuz Mayis, Samsun 55200, Türkiye.
Animals (Basel). 2024 Jan 29;14(3):442. doi: 10.3390/ani14030442.
Our objectives were to investigate the effects of exogenous melatonin on testicular volume (TV), testicular blood flow (TBF), and semen quality in Bafra rams during the non-breeding season. One group of rams (MEL, = 5) received a 36 mg melatonin implant twice, with 30 days in between, while the other group (CON, = 5) served as the control. TBF, TV, and semen quality parameters were determined at three-week intervals starting three weeks before until twelve weeks after the first melatonin implant. Testicular blood flow was determined in the supratesticular (STA) and marginal testicular artery (MA) using color Doppler ultrasound. Semen was collected and evaluated, and the total oxidative status (TOS) and total antioxidative status (TAS) was determined using an ELISA. The MEL group had increased ( < 0.05) TV between the sixth and twelfth week after the start of treatment. Overall, the MEL group had lower resistance and pulsatility indexes ( < 0.05) between the third and ninth week, although there was no difference ( > 0.05) between the two groups in most semen quality parameters. However, TAS concentrations increased ( < 0.05) in the MEL group compared with the CON. The results of this study show that exogenous melatonin in the non-breeding season significantly increased both TBF and TV in Bafra rams. Therefore, giving rams implants with 36 mg melatonin twice at least one month prior to the non-breeding season is expected to improve testicular size and function and reproductive capacity.
我们的目标是研究外源褪黑素对非繁殖季节巴夫拉公羊睾丸体积（TV）、睾丸血流量（TBF）和精液质量的影响。一组公羊（MEL，n = 5）接受两次36毫克褪黑素植入，间隔30天，而另一组（CON，n = 5）作为对照。从首次植入褪黑素前3周开始，每隔3周测定一次TBF、TV和精液质量参数，直至首次植入后12周。使用彩色多普勒超声测定睾丸上动脉（STA）和睾丸边缘动脉（MA）的血流量。采集精液并进行评估，使用酶联免疫吸附测定法测定总氧化状态（TOS）和总抗氧化状态（TAS）。MEL组在治疗开始后的第6至12周睾丸体积增加（P < 0.05）。总体而言，MEL组在第3至9周的阻力和搏动指数较低（P < 0.05），尽管两组在大多数精液质量参数上没有差异（P > 0.05）。然而，与CON组相比，MEL组的TAS浓度增加（P < 0.05）。本研究结果表明，非繁殖季节外源褪黑素显著增加了巴夫拉公羊的TBF和TV。因此，预计在非繁殖季节前至少一个月给公羊两次植入36毫克褪黑素，有望改善睾丸大小和功能以及繁殖能力。
