Fatemeh Yarahmadi; Ali Kiani; Raziye Dekami; Hamidreza Sahraie; Ayoub Azizi; Alireza Rocky
Volume 22, Issue 1 , March 2020, , Pages 37-45
Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary betaine supplementation on circulating homocysteine, antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation in pregnant Sanjabi ewes. Twenty multiparous pregnant ewes (3-5 years old) were fed either a basal diet (Control: 71.2±3.6 kg BW) or the ...
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The present study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary betaine supplementation on circulating homocysteine, antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation in pregnant Sanjabi ewes. Twenty multiparous pregnant ewes (3-5 years old) were fed either a basal diet (Control: 71.2±3.6 kg BW) or the basal diet supplemented with five g per kg dry matter betaine (Betaine: 71.6±3.8 kg BW) during the last five weeks of gestation in a completely random design. Feed intake, body weight (BW) and body condition score (BCS) were weekly recorded. Blood samples were taken from the jugular vein at 28, 14, seven, and one-day pre-partum. The activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) and blood concentration of homocysteine, and malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined. Dry matter intake, BCS, and BW of ewes were not affected by betaine consumption. In both groups, the activity of GPx increased (P<0.05), while CAT and MDA decreased (P<0.05) as gestation progressed. The activity of GPx and CAT remained unchanged by betaine. Ewes receiving betaine showed greater (P<0.05) blood homocysteine, but lower (P<0.05) MDA as compared to the control ewes. The birth weight of lambs in Betaine ewes was heavier (P=0.06) than those of control ewes. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of betaine was beneficial for alleviating oxidative stress and improving lambs' birth weight in Sanjabi ewes.
Hojjat Baghshahi; Saeed Zeinoaldini; Ahmad Zare Shahneh; Saeid Esmaeilkhanian
Volume 21, Issue 3 , September 2019, , Pages 393-400
Abstract
The effect of addition of different concentrations of folic acid (vitamin B9) to the culture medium on in vitro maturation of bovine oocytes was investigated in two experiments. Optimization of bovine oocyte maturation medium is one of the strategies affecting quality of maturity and fertility, ultimately ...
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The effect of addition of different concentrations of folic acid (vitamin B9) to the culture medium on in vitro maturation of bovine oocytes was investigated in two experiments. Optimization of bovine oocyte maturation medium is one of the strategies affecting quality of maturity and fertility, ultimately resulting in increasing the quality of produced bovine embryos. In the 1st experiment, to specify the concentrations of folic acid and homocysteine, ovarian follicles were divided into two categories including follicles with more or less than eight mm of diameter. Then, the concentrations were measured in both follicle groups as well as a commercial culture medium. In the second experiment, bovine ovaries were transferred to the laboratory immediately after slaughter and the cumulus-oocyte complexes were collected by aspiration from 2-8 mm diameter follicles. Oocytes were randomly divided into four groups and different levels of folic acid (0, 10, 100 and 1000 ng/ml) were added to maturation medium based on the results of the first experiment. Following incubation of oocytes, the percentage of mature oocytes was determined by Hoechst staining. The concentrations of folic acid and homocysteine in follicles with diameter of less than eight mm was higher than those with diameter of greater than eight mm, as well as the culture medium Supplementation of maturation medium with 100 ng/ml folic acid increased the percentage of metaphase-II oocytes compared to the control (P <0.05). Considering the concentrations of folic acid and homocysteine in the medium, results showed that the addition of folic acid improves in vitro maturation of bovine oocytes.