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Lipid and antioxidant changes in semen of broiler fowl from 25 to 60 weeks of age

Spermatozoa and seminal plasma from cockerels at the beginning and end of their reproductive periods were examined for their lipid composition and associated antioxidant capacities. The significant reduction in concentration of spermatozoa with age was associated with a large increase in lipid concentrations in spermatozoa and in seminal plasma. This change in lipid concentration was accompanied by increases in the proportions of phospholipid and free cholesterol; in constrast, the proportions of these lipid moieties in seminal plasma were reduced. The major phospholipid fractions in the spermatozoa and seminal plasma were phosphatidyl choline and phosphatidyl ethanolamine. There was a large decrease with age in the proportion of phosphatidyl ethanolamine and a commensurate increase in that of phosphatidyl choline in the spermatozoa and seminal plasma. These major changes in phospholipid content were accompanied by a decrease in the amount of phosphatidyl serine in the spermatozoa and increases in phosphatidyl inositol and cardiolipin in both spermatozoa and seminal plasma. The reductions in the proportions of phosphatidyl ethanolamine were accompanied by considerable reductions in the content of the major polyunsaturated fatty acids 20:4 (n-6) and 22:4 (n-6). The changes in lipid composition owing to ageing were associated with a marked reduction within the spermatozoa of the major antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase. The role of these changes in the specific combinations of polyunsaturated lipids and in antioxidant capacity in the reduction in fertility with age are discussed.