Volume 59, Issue 328, April 2023

Semen characteristics of rabbits fed camel’s foot (Piliostigma thonningii) essential oil supplemented diet

Anaso EU^1♦, Olafadehan OA¹, Chibuogwu IC²

¹Department of Animal Science, University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria
²Department of Veterinary Theriogenology, University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria

^♦Corresponding author
Department of Animal Science, University of Abuja, Abuja Nigeria

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate whether the inclusive administration of Piliostigma thonningii essential oil (PEO) in rabbit’s diet was beneficial to their general reproductive traits. Forty-five clinically healthy weaned male Dutch rabbits of about five weeks of age were used for the experiment. The rabbits were divided into three treatment groups (T1, T2 and T3), with fifteen rabbits per group and balanced for their BW such that rabbits in each group had similar average initial BW of 0.27 ± 0.02. The experimental rabbits were administered PEO at 0, 2 and 4 mL/kg for treatments 1, 2 and 3 respectively. The semen colour was same (creamy) and semen pH was 7.00 for T1, T2 and T3. The values for ejaculatory volume varied from 0.53 to 1.03 ml with T3 having the highest value and T1 with the lowest value (P < 0.05). Values for semen concentration varied between 128.53 to 219.66 (x 10⁶/ml) having the lowest value in T3 (P < 0.05) and T2 and T3 having similar values (P > 0.05). Values for sperm motility varied between 68.33 to 90.00% with T3 having the highest value and T1 with the lowest value (P < 0.05).

Keywords: Essential oil, Piliostigma thonningii, rabbits, semen characteristics, semen morphology, morphometrics

Discovery, 2023, 59, e36d1037

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Published: April 2023