FATTY-ACID COMPOSITION, GLUTATHIONE-PEROXIDASE AND SUPEROXIDE-DISMUTASE ACTIVITY AND TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF AVIAN SEMEN

This work demonstrates that spermatozoa from five avian species (chick en, turkey, guinea fowl, duck and goose) are all characterised by high proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids, from 46 (turkey) to 55% ( duck) of total. For each of the species, the most abundant fatty acids were arachidonic (20:4n-6) and docosatetraenoic (22:4n-6) acids, repr esenting between 22 (turkey) and 40% (chicken) of total. Significant a ctivities of the major isozymes of superoxide dismutase and glutathion e peroxidase, which protect against the peroxidation associated with h igh degree of fatty acid unsaturation, were found in spermatozoa from all species. The seminal plasma also had these activities and showed a dditional mechanisms for protecting spermatozoa from peroxidation. In general terms, these lipid and enzyme proteins were similar between th e five avian species and different from those reported for mammalian s perm. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.