Effect of dietary supplementation with α-tocopheryl acetate and ascorbic acid on qualitative characteristics and fertilizing ability of rabbit semen

Abstract

The aim of the present work was to verify the effect of α-tocopheryl acetate addition -50 vs 200mg kg^-1 – and ascorbic acid – 0 vs 1mg L^-1 - on the characteristics of rabbit semen and its fertilizing ability. The single supplementation of vitamin E and C, compared to the control diet, did not modify semen traits, while the association of E+C significantly improved the kinetics of spermatozoa (60.73 vs 57.09 µm sec^-1 – path velocity) but without any effect on the fertility rate (70.00 vs 70.66 %). The results confirm that the standard recommendations for vitamin E and C are adequate if fresh semen is used.