dinoprost and astaxanthine

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of calorie restriction and dietary antioxidant supplementation, separately or in combination, on the quality and quantity of sperm in male rats. Forty male rats were randomly allocated to four groups of 10 animals each, and fed for at least 86 days with an ad libitum diet (group 1), a restricted diet (group 2), an ad libitum diet and astaxanthin, vitamin E, and vitamin C supplements (group 3), or a restricted diet with astaxanthin, vitamin E, and vitamin C supplements (group 4). At the end of the study period, sperm count and motility were determined with a hemocytometer, and differences between the groups were analyzed by analysis of variance. In addition, total antioxidant capacity and 8-epi prostaglandin F2 alpha were measured at the beginning and end of the study period with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. After 86 days, a significantly higher sperm count was seen in group 4 compared to other groups. The percentage of immotile sperm was significantly decreased in groups 2, 3, and 4 compared to group 1. A significant increase in total antioxidant capacity was observed in group 3 (p = 0.02) and group 4 (p = 0.02) compared to groups 1 and 2. Antioxidant supplementation with or without calorie restriction had no significant effect on the serum isoprostane level in any group. Astaxanthinin, combined with vitamin E, vitamin C, and calorie restriction, was able to ameliorate, in part, infertility in male rats.

Topics: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Antioxidants; Ascorbic Acid; Caloric Restriction; Dietary Supplements; Dinoprost; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Male; Random Allocation; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Sperm Count; Sperm Motility; Spermatozoa; Vitamin E; Xanthophylls

Duplicate groups of Atlantic salmon post-smolts were fed four purified diets supplemented with both vitamin E and the carotenoid astaxanthin (Ax) (+E, +Ax), or supplemented with either vitamin E or Ax (-E, +Ax and +E, -Ax) or deficient in both vitamin E and Ax (-E, -Ax) for 22 wk. There were no effects of diet on growth rate, but an extensive lipoid liver degenerative lesion was observed in 15% of fish fed diets deficient in vitamin E. Tissue vitamin E concentrations varied in accordance with dietary vitamin E in liver, muscle, heart, plasma, brain and eye; levels were reduced to approximately 3% in liver but only to 40% in eye of fish fed diets deficient in vitamin E compared with those fed diets supplemented with vitamin E. An interactive sparing of Ax supplementation on tissue vitamin E concentration was observed, but only in brain. Dietary deficiency of both vitamin E and Ax significantly increased the recovery of desaturated and elongated products of both [1-(14)C] 18:3(n-3) and [1-(14)C] 20:5(n-3) in isolated hepatocytes, suggesting that conversion of fatty acids to their long-chain highly unsaturated products can be stimulated by a deficiency of lipid-soluble antioxidants. The antioxidant synergism of vitamin E and Ax was supported by their ability to reduce malondialdehyde formation in an in vitro stimulation of microsomal lipid peroxidation and to reduce plasma levels of 8-isoprostane. The results of this study suggest that both vitamin E and the carotenoid Ax have antioxidant functions in Atlantic salmon.

Topics: Animal Feed; Animals; Antioxidants; Aquaculture; beta Carotene; Dietary Supplements; Dinoprost; F2-Isoprostanes; Fatty Acids; Oxidation-Reduction; Salmo salar; Vitamin E; Weight Gain; Xanthophylls