Huma Jamil

Toxic effects of arsenic on semen and hormonal profile and their amelioration with vitamin E in Teddy goat bucks

The present environmental study has been planned to investigate the toxic effects of arsenic on reproductive functions of Teddy bucks as well as to examine whether these toxic effects are ameliorated by vitamin E. Sixteen adult Teddy bucks were divided randomly into four equal groups A, B, C and D with following treatment: A (control), B (sodium arsenite 5 mg kg−1 BW day−1), C (vit E 200 mg kg−1 BW day−1 + Arsenic 5 mg kg−1 BW day−1) and D (vit E 200 mg kg−1 BW day−1). This treatment was continued for 84 days. Semen quality parameters were evaluated weekly. Male testosterone, luteinising hormone (LH), follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH) and cortisol levels were measured through enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) after every 2 weeks. The data were subjected to two‐way analysis of variance followed by Duncan test for multiple comparisons. Semen evaluation parameters were reduced significantly (P < 0.05) in arsenic‐treated animals. The serum hormonal profile of testosterone, LH and FSH was reduced significantly (P < 0.05) in arsenic group, while the serum level of cortisol was increased. Vitamin E alleviated the toxic effects of arsenic on semen and hormonal parameters. It may be concluded from this study that sodium arsenite causes major toxicity changes in semen and hormonal profile in Teddy goat bucks and vitamin E has ameliorative effects on these toxic changes.

Review on the screening of semen by hypo-osmotic swelling test.

The hypo‐osmotic swelling test (HOST) is widely used as a valuable test for determining sperm quality by evaluating the membrane integrity of spermatozoa of various domestic animals including cattle, horses and swine. The HOST has also been used as an indicator of the fertilising capacity of spermatozoa. This test is based on the swelling ability when functional spermatozoa submitted to hypo‐osmotic solutions. This test is commonly used as an important parameter for the evaluation of semen due to its strong correlation with semen evaluation parameters. The objective of this review was to analyse its significance in semen evaluation, swelling of spermatozoa under various osmolarities and variations in swelling percentage under different seasons.