Semen quality and reproductive performance of boars kept in pens containing conventional coffee husk as a floor covering

Mariele Cristina Teles,Carla Oliveira Resende,Luiz Gustavo Pessoa Rocha,Valéria Vânia Rodrigues,Márcio Gilberto Zangeronimo,Luciano José Pereira,Joan Enric Rodríguez-Gil,Bárbara Azevedo Pereira

doi:10.1590/s1806-92902016000700002

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the putative effects of the use of coffee husk as floor covering on boar semen quality. Sixteen boars were divided into two groups. The first group was held in a conventional system with a compact floor. The second group was kept on a compact floor covered with coffee pods. The experimental period was 60 days. Levels of caffeine and chlorogenic acid in the insemination doses (ID) before and after 96 h of storage at 15 °C and the reproductive performance (litter size and rate of return to estrus) of these doses after their utilization in a standard artificial insemination protocol were evaluated. The ID from the animals kept in pens containing the coffee pods contained 25.4±8.7 µg/mL of caffeine, whereas no significant amounts of chlorogenic acid were detected. Semen from boars housed with coffee husk showed a significant increase in malondialdehyde levels, which indicates a significant increase in cell membrane peroxidation, after 96 h of storage. There were no significant differences in the other evaluated semen quality parameters when analyzed among groups. Likewise, there was no significant influence of coffee hulls on either the rate of return to estrus or the litter size of inseminated females. The use of coffee husks as floor covering worsens the quality of fresh semen and that of insemination doses stored for 96 h but not the quality of semen immediately diluted; therefore, coffee husks may be used only on farms that use semen immediately processed after collection without affecting the reproductive parameters of breeding stock.

Highlights

In recent decades, there has been a considerable increase in the concern for animal welfare, especially in intensive production systems such as swine
The objective of this study was to evaluate the putative effects of the use of coffee husk as floor covering on boar semen quality
Semen from boars housed with coffee husk showed a significant increase in malondialdehyde levels, which indicates a significant increase in cell membrane peroxidation, after 96 h of storage

Summary

Introduction

There has been a considerable increase in the concern for animal welfare, especially in intensive production systems such as swine. In the current intensive pig production system, boars are normally kept in enclosed bays. This type of management can have a direct influence on the animal welfare (Lovedahl et al, 2005) and semen quality of boars (Gollenberg et al, 2010). In artificial insemination (AI) in swine, cold-diluted semen is usually used until 72 h of storage (Johnson et al, 2000). There is a considerable reduction in quality, mainly due to a reactive oxygen species-induced (ROS-induced) overall cell membrane alteration (Ball et al, 2001; Breininger et al, 2005). Different metabolite substances have frequently been added to semen extenders in order to counteract the deleterious effects caused by inappropriate functioning of the endogenous boar sperm metabolism (Mendez et al, 2013)

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