Khnissi Samia, Ben Salem Imène, Bejaoui Bochra, Fattouch Sami, Mustapha Souha Ben, Haj-Kacem Rami, M'Hamdi Naceur, Martin Patrick, Dattena Maria, Lassoued Narjess
Laboratory of Animal and Forage Production, National Institute of Agronomic Research of Tunisia (INRAT) University of Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia.
Department of Animal Production, Service of Zootechnics and Agricultural Economy National School of Veterinary Medicine Sidi Thabet, University of Manouba, Cité Nasr, Tunisia.
J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl). 2025 Mar;109(2):437-448. doi: 10.1111/jpn.14063. Epub 2024 Oct 28.
The detrimental effects of hyperthermia on the testes and the protective effect of thyme essential oil against testicular damage induced by this stress in rams were studied. Twenty-four rams of the Barbarine breed with an average weight of 62.5 ± 0.3 kg and an average age of 24 ± 0.6 months. The experiment consisted of inducing localized heat stress on the first group of rams by applying heat bags to both testicles of six rams (G s). The second group underwent the same heat stress on the testes but received orally 100 µL/day/animal of thyme essential oil (G s-he). A positive control did not undergo stress but received thyme essential oil (G he) with the same doses as the (G s-he) group, and the negative control did not undergo either stress or receive the essential oil of thyme (G c). One hundred twenty-eight adult ewes of the same breed divided into four groups of 32 ewes were used to study the effect of different treatments on the in vivo ram's fertility. Ewes are synchronized and we have applied natural mating with oestrus control, the reproduction balance sheet is calculated after lambing. The results showed that tests of heat stress (HS) negatively affect semen quality but did not cause infertility. However, neither tests for heat stress nor treatment with thyme EO significantly affected the haematological profile. The study of the effect of heat stress on the testes on fertility in vivo showed a drop in the number of females who were fertilized at the first oestrus and consequently a drop in fertility. However, the rams that suffered the same stress but were treated with EO thymus recorded an improvement in these parameters.
研究了热应激对公羊睾丸的有害影响以及百里香精油对这种应激诱导的睾丸损伤的保护作用。选用24只巴巴里品种公羊，平均体重62.5±0.3千克，平均年龄24±0.6个月。实验包括对第一组公羊施加局部热应激，给6只公羊（G s组）的两个睾丸都敷上热袋。第二组公羊的睾丸也接受相同的热应激，但每天每只动物口服100微升百里香精油（G s-he组）。阳性对照组不施加应激，但接受与（G s-he）组相同剂量的百里香精油（G he组），阴性对照组既不施加应激也不接受百里香精油（G c组）。选用128只同品种成年母羊，分为4组，每组32只，用于研究不同处理对公羊体内生育力的影响。使母羊发情同步，采用自然交配并控制发情期，产羔后计算繁殖情况。结果表明，热应激（HS）试验对精液质量有负面影响，但未导致不育。然而，热应激试验和百里香精油处理均未显著影响血液学指标。热应激对体内生育力影响的研究表明，首次发情时受孕的母羊数量下降，从而导致生育力下降。然而，遭受相同应激但用百里香精油处理的公羊在这些参数上有所改善。
