Manipulation of fatty acid profiles in roosters’ testes, alteration in sexual hormones, improvements in testicular histology characteristics and elevation sperm quality factor by l-carnitine

Abstract The present study was designed to investigate the effects of different levels of l -carnitine (LC) on sperm quality factor (SQF), alterations in testis fatty acid profiles, testicular histology and reproductive hormones in young roosters. Eighteen broiler breeders (Ross 308) weighed with 3 months age. They were randomly classified while each group had six birds. There were three experimental groups based on the LC concentrations (i.e. LC-0, LC-250, LC-500 mg per kg of diet). After two weeks of adaptation, body weight out and semen sampling were weekly taken from 24 to 34 weeks, once every two weeks. At the end of the experiments, four roosters from each treatment group were sacrificed in order to analyze testicular histology, testis fatty acid profiles and reproductive hormones. Supplementing the diet with two of the LC levels for 22 weeks caused significant rise in sperm concentration, viability and SQF compared to that of the control group (P